THE INCIDENCE OF TAXATION.

——<>——

This is only a quasi-political article, and will simply

deal with a phase of the question of taxation in so far

as it may affect Freemasonry, either directly or

indirectly; Naturally, human nature abhors taxation,

but it is admitted that some form is necessary to

carry on the administration of the affairs of the

country. But it should be an axiom that no form of

taxation should press unduly on any section of the

community, and that the weight should be borne by

those most capable of sustaining the strain. And if it

can be shown that the incidence of taxation is equally

and equitably imposed, then it is clear that the

country is being well and properly governed.

Freemasonry in its relation to the State is somewhat

long suffering, which not infrequently places it at a

disadvantage. Take, for example, its system of

philanthropy, which is passed by without the

slightest State acknowledgment. In mundane matters

it is not unusual for benevolent contributions to be subsidised by the Government in an equal amount. In this

country, with its old-age pension scheme, the pensioner may suffer a reduction of State aid should a Masonic

annuity exceed a certain amount. This by the way. What we are more particularly concerned about at this

time is the new scale of postal charges which come into operation on the 1st August, and some of which

most inequitably affect the Masonic Newspaper Company, and other similarly-situated small companies

devoted to the promulgation of information and instruction on special subjects. It is such bodies that pay

large sums annually to the Postal Department, as invariably their whole issue, each week or month, is posted

by single copy. These corporations or private persons are suddenly taxed an additional 100 per cent. in

addition to all other taxes, from none of which they are exempt. The increase to the general public is only 25

per cent., and in 75 per cent. of cases the correspondence is comparatively so small that the increase will not

be a consideration. But to small struggling industries with small capital, such as the Masonic Newspaper

Company, the additional tax will mean more than £100 per annum on the inland circulation, while the

foreign issue has to pay the same price as letter correspondence, 2d. per copy. To the large daily newspaper

the matter is unimportant, as its postage is a bagatelle, its sales being made by hand. But the imposition of

100 per cent. on such institutions as the Masonic Newspaper Company is an act of dire legislative

oppression, and the fact that bonuses and increased payments have to be made to officials offers no excuse

for the imposition of such a grossly inequitable tax on a section of the community least able to bear it There

is another matter in connection with proposed taxation which may materially affect the families of

Freemasons. We refer to the death duties, which it is proposed to materially increase. As good citizens

Freemasons promote the habits of thrift, and most brethren are animated by a desire to make some provision

for their wives and families when they—the brethren—are called hence. Invariably the estates bequeathed

are not of any magnitude, but would give some practical comfort to the widow and family of the deceased

brother if such estates could be preserved from spoliation. But the average politician has no conscience on

this matter, and increase of succession duties is a popular legislative cry, probably because the fellow who

raised the money cannot object, and widows and children can be robbed with impunity. We recently heard a

politician state that these duties should be increased to 50 per cent. of the estate. It is doubtful if there are

many people who know the extent of the death duties at present, and if such duties are greatly increased it

will be found that thrift of the individual is devoted to bolster up the ineptitude of an impecunious

administration.

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A MASONIC TEST.

———<>———

It may be taken for granted that there is no member of the Masonic fraternity under the N.Z.C. who is

ignorant of the existence of a fund, controlled by G.L., having for its object the betterment of the conditions

of such widows and orphans of deceased Masons and of such aged Masons as may be recognised as fitting

and worthy recipients of united aid by the Craft. It is customary in this connection at certain ceremonials,

chiefly Lodge installation ceremonies, to embody as an item in the programme of procedure the taking up of

a collection by the brethren present with a view to augmenting this fund. The collections have, speaking

generally, resulted in a pecuniary outcome, taking Lodge by Lodge, distressingly short of what might have

been expected from the number of brethren present at the ceremonial, obviously demonstrating that few of

the brethren have a proper conception of their Masonic duty in connection with benevolence and charity, or

that if they have, they wilfully ignore it. The capital sum upon which the W. and O. and A.Ms.' relief is

administered by G.L. reflects great credit on the N.Z.C. Masonic institution so far as it goes, and recognising

that it has all been gathered in since the formation of the New Zealand G.L. The annuities possible to be paid

out of it to certain recipients are necessarily small in amount, but in normal times represented to individuals a

very welcome yearly addition to such small income as they possessed. With the aftermath of the great war

upon us, the position as regards these annuitants has altogether changed, in that the annuities they receive are

lessened in purchasing value by very nearly one-half. For instance, an annuity of £25 per annum would be

worth now, or would represent, about £14 only. It is needless to go in detail into the matter, as the subject

was very fully discussed at the. GL. meeting in May last, and probably most of the brethren very well know

the position. A scheme was then propounded for an appeal to all the Lodges in the hope of raising for the

fund in question this year the sum of £10,000, in order that some sensible addition may be made to the

present pittances payable to annuitants, having in view the terribly increased cost of living and the

diminished purchasing power of the sovereign. It is also suggested that some portion, say, one half, of

whatever sums are raised annually for this fund should be kept liquid, and the remainder capitalised, so that

monetary help in the shape of a bonus, or what not, can always be given to an annuitant where thought

advisable. This, however, is another question than that wider review. The disappointing results of these

Lodge collections for the W. and O. and A.M. Fund, of course, speaking generally, show, as has been said,

that those contributing thereto fail to realise the serious and important Masonic duty they are thus shirking. It

is not an uncommon or a rare thing for brethren attending these functions, well knowing that a collection for

the purpose referred to will be a part of the proceedings, to come to Lodge with no money in their pockets

other than, say, a tram fare to carry them home. Others put in the plate the lordly sum of a threepenny bit,

and feel no scruple afterwards in making one at the refectory table, and consuming some two shillings' worth

of food and drink. Now, these brethren are decent men, and, doubtless, count themselves as average good

Masons, and it is but charitable to diagnose their failure to rise to the occasion at the collection for

benevolent purposes to an utter inability, through ignorance, to recognise their Masonic duty in the matter.

On such it cannot, be impressed too strongly that every one of these collections in aid of the W. and O. and

A.M. Fund is an important and searching Masonic test. It is by his deeds that a Mason will be judged; words,

though overflowing, go for nought. If the Mason fails when his principles are put to the test, where does he

stand as regards his obligations and his duty to the Craft, which, among other things, exists for brotherly love

and relief? What brotherly love does the Mason exhibit when he either ignores the call for aid to the widow,

the orphaned and the helpless aged, or when he makes a farce of a pretended sympathy by assisting that fund

by the munificent threepenny-bit? It is time, and, indeed, the time is the present, that W.Ms. should, in such

pause as they may be able to find in the making of Masons, devote a little time to educating the brethren

under their direction in the matter of the real duties inseparable from the honourable title of a Freemason.

Foremost among those duties is that of unostentatiously but invariably, according to the means it one's

disposal, assisting the poor and distressed, and consoling the distressed and afflicted. The W. and O. and

A.M. Fund collection affords during every year opportunities for each brother to carry out, not in a niggardly

way, not lavishly so as to embarrass others, but freely of one's personal sacrifice, the principles he has sworn

to cherish and put into practice. Let us hope that in future improved results may show a wider knowledge of

Masonic responsibilities.

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News and Notes.
———————————————————————————————————————————

THE editor of the CRAFTSMAN is away on a trip to Sydney, N.S.W., partly on business, partly on pleasure

bent. His many friends will recognise that not only is an extended holiday due to him, but that such is much

needed for recuperative purposes. In his absence the literary care of this journal falls upon his locum tenens,

who confidently looks to the CRAFTSMAN subscribers to exercise due charity where any shortcomings are

apparent.

A VISITOR to Wellington in the entourage of the M.W.G.M., Bro. T. Ross, was V.W. Bro. J. A. P. Fredric,

G.Treas. Bro. Fredric was at the Eastbourne Lodge consecration, and in connection with that ceremony

acted as Asst.G.Sec., owing to M.W. Bro. Niccol's indisposition.

R.W. BRO. G. RUSSELL, Prov.G.M., upon whom most of the entertaining of the M.W.G.M., Bro. T. Ross,

has devolved during the latter's stay in Wellington, has had a very busy time of it, and comes out of the

ordeal of Masonic functions and the entertaining with flying colours. He certainly deserves well of the

brethren of this district, and that this is generally recognised is shown by the numerous attendance upon him

in his official visitations. It is understood that the M.W.G.M. has expressed himself as thoroughly pleased

with his visit to Wellington, and officially delighted with his experiences at the Lodges visited.

THE M.W.G.M., Bro. T. Ross, left for the South and home by the ferry steamer leaving Wellington on the

5th August. M.W. Bro. Malcolm Niccol, G.Sec., did not return with the G.M., but, having business in the

North, left Wellington for Auckland by the express train on the 9th August. Bro. Niccol was accompanied by

Mrs. Niccol, which, in view of his accident, was fortunate, as some musing and special attention were

necessary.

A BROTHER of Scinde Lodge, Napier, writes :—" In your April issue you complimented our Lodge

correspondent on his reports. Doubtless your remarks were deserving. I am sure the brethren of our Lodge

will agree that he made a serious omission in last report by overlooking the fact that a P.M.'s jewel was

presented to W. Bro. Turville on his vacating the W.M.'s chair after a most successful year of office."

THE closing of the month of July and the first days of August certainly represented a busy Masonic time for

the brethren of Wellington and suburbs. Saturday, 31st July, was the installation of the W.M. of Coronation

Lodge, No. 127, Johnsonville; Monday, 2nd August, was the ordinary meeting of Lodge Leinster, No. 44;

Tuesday., 3rd August, Installed Masters' Lodge, No. 194, illustrated lecture by the M.W.G.M.; Wednesday,

4th August, constitution, consecration and dedication of Lodge Eastbourne, No. 217, and installation of

W.M. and officers. At all these functions the M.W.G.M. was present, with a numerous attendance of G.L.

officers, present and past.

So excellent was the illustrated lecture delivered by the M.W.G.M., Bro. T. Ross, at the August meeting of

the Wellington installed Masters' Lodge, No. 194, that the CRAFTSMAN feels it a duty to express regret at

being unable, in publishing the lecture, to reproduce the plates explanatory of the text. The cost of doing so,

however, was quite prohibitive. The lecture, which was necessarily somewhat lengthy, was, however, of

such an interesting and instructive nature that the CRAFTSMAN is glad to publish it shorn of the illustrations,

and the first portion thereof will be found in the present issue. Its distinguished author will doubtless accept

our apology for necessary sub-editing.

OUR veteran brother, R.W. Bro. Peterkin, P.D.G.M., was present at the installation ceremony at Coronation

Lodge, No. 127, Johnsonville, on the 31st July. He was looking fit, and enjoyed himself mainly because he

there foregathered once more with his one-time friend, Bro. T. Ross, now M.W.G.M. These two reviewed

old times—about a century or so ago, more or less—with great glee, and "Grand-dad " Peterkin chuckled

some when time GAL related how, when Bro. Peterkin was W.M. of Lodge Hiram, Dunedin, he (Bro, Ross)

had been ordered by him to retire and re-enter and salute properly. There was discipline in those prehistoric

days.

AT the installation ceremony of Hinemoa Lodge, No. 122, in the Daniel Street Hall on Thursday, 12th

August, the seating capacity was taxed to its utmost. Indeed, a number of brethren had to be content with a

standing position in the doorways, the doors having been opened as soon as possible for ventilation purposes.

It was in the nature, therefore, of good news that the newly-invested I.P.M., when returning thanks for

presentations made to himself and his wife, foreshadowed the enlargement of the Lodgeroom as one of the

works the newly-installed W.M., Bro. Russell, intended to devote himself to during his term of office.

DURING the recent brief visit to Wellington of M.W. Bro. Malcolm Niccol, Mrs. Niccol, who accompanied

him, suffered the loss by death of her father. The CRAFTSMAN tenders to her sincere sympathy in her

bereavement, and in this feels sure the Craft generally in this Dominion will regretfully join.

A pRIVATE letter received from M.W. Bro. H. J. Williams, P.G,M. who attended the centenary celebrations

in Sydney, shows that our distinguished brother was not enamoured of the way in which things there were

carried out. He and R.W. Bro. Veitch, P.G.S.W., and W. Bro. Beauchamp Platte, Dist.G.Sec., E.C.,

Wellington, were the representatives present of the G.L. of New Zealand and the Dist.G.L., E.C.,

Wellington. About 2,000 brethren were unable to obtain admittance to the Town Hall, which would only

accommodate 4,000 persons. M.W. Bro. Williams was well but tired after his Masonic experiences.

BRO. W. RAYMOND died at the Wellington Hospital on the 16th August. Bro. Raymond, who was a P.G.

Organist of the G.L. of England, was well known to the older brethren of this city, and once regularly

attended the E.C. Craft Lodges. He was all accomplished musician. Of late years he has not been associated

very intimately with Masonry.

TUTANEKAI Lodge held a "Ladies' Night" in the Masonic Hall, Berhampore, on the evening of the 17th

August. There was a very large gathering of members and their lady friends. The W.M., Bro. Key, welcomed

the guests. The entertainment consisted of musical items, interspersed with dancing, and all present

thoroughly enjoyed themselves. During the supper adjournment, the Prov.G.M., in a happy speech, proposed

the toast of "The Ladies," which was responded to by the W.M., Bro. Key. W. Bro. Whitelaw proposed the

health of the Prov.G.M., who, in responding, gave the ladies some interesting reminiscences of his visits to

country Lodges. Bro. Duncan was in charge of the musical arrangements. The W.M., Bro. Key, made an

ideal host, and was indefatigable in his efforts to make the evening an enjoyable one.

AT the July meeting of Lodge St. John, No. 94, R.W. Bro. A. le H. Hoyles, P.P.G.M., Southland, was

presented by the brethren of that district with a suit of P.P.G.M.'s regalia.

M.W. BRO. MALCOLM NICCOL, G.Sec., accompanied the M.W.G.M. from Dunedin to this city, and, no

doubt, intended to be present with him at the various functions honoured by the presence of the G.M.

Unfortunately, however, M.W. Bro. Niccol met with a slight but painful accident after arrival in Wellington,

necessitating almost complete rest, and therefore he was unable to attend other than at the consecration, etc.,

of Lodge Eastbourne. This was a great disappointment to many brethren of Wellington city and suburbs, who

would have liked to renew old friendships. Gratification, however, was expressed that Bro. Niccol's accident

was not of a serious nature, and hope was general that the G.Sec. would soon be himself again.

THE special collection in aid of the W. and O. and A.M. Fund at Lodge St. Andrew's, No. 32, meeting on the

16th August realised £150.

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SOUTHLAND NOTES.

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Lodge Waihopai was well represented at the August meeting of Southern Cross.

  

The next regular meeting of Lodge Waihopai will take the form of a "Talk about Freemasonry," by R.W.

Bro. W. Smith, P.D.G.M., instead of the usual ceremonial. This should afford a splendid opportunity to the

brethren of Lodge Waihopai and the town Lodges to obtain information which is unfortunately too seldom

imparted at the ordinary meetings.

  

The installation of Bro. Alex. Derbie as W.M. of Lodge Victoria, No. 147, took place on Friday, 13th

August.

  

Lodge Victoria recently held a social and dance. There was a good number of brethren and their lady friends

present, also a considerable number of visitors from sister Lodges.

  

To enable Invercargill brethren to participate in the installation ceremony of Lodge Aparima this month,

arrangements are being made for a charter train to run to the western town, returning after the ceremony.

  

W. Bro. Tarrant, W.M. of Southern Cross, No. 9, has recently been absent from Invercargill on business, and

journeyed as far north as Wellington. He attended the installation meeting of Lodge Hinemoa in company

with two other Southland brethren.

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MARLBOROUGH NOTES.

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An unique ceremony will be performed in Lodge Unanimity, No. 106, on Thursday, 9th September, when

the W.M. (W. Bro. W. G. Rudd) will initiate his three brothers into the Craft. He will be assisted by the

oldest P.Ms. of the Lodge.

  

In presenting, at the installation meeting of Lodge Unanimity, a. G.L. certificate to a brother who had been

initiated eighteen years ago, M.W. Bro. Griffiths, P.G.M., expressed the hope that the brother would be more

regular in his attendance in the future than he had been in the past. The dilatory one showed that he could not

raise a blush.

  

Bro. A. E. Barrowclough, headmaster of the Havelock School, who for several years acted as Sec. of Lodge

Havelock, No. 104, and who last April was invested as S.W., is leaving shortly to take up a position in the

North Island. Bro. Barrowclough has been a valuable member of Lodge Havelock, and will be sadly missed.

  

Bro. J. H. Foster, who recently relinquished the position of Tyler in Lodge Unanimity after nearly twenty-

three years' continuous service, has been succeeded by his son-in-law, Bro. C. N. Fisk.

  

The roll numbers of the two Blenheim Lodges—Wairau and Unanimity—are practically the same (about 110

each). In average attendance at meetings, however, Wairau Lodge holds pride of place.

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THE EGYPTIAN INFLUENCE ON OUR MASONIC

CEREMONIAL AND RITUAL.

———<>———

[An Illustrated Lecture delivered at the WELLINGTON INSTALLED MASTERS' LODGE, No. 194,

Wellington, by M.W. Bro. T. Ross, G.M., on 3rd August, 1920.]

————

FOREWORD.

Before entering on my subject, I think it would be as well if I made it quite clear that whatever antiquity may

be urged for our ceremonies and ritual, our signs, words and tokens, there can be no question that shortly

after the formation of the three G.Ls. in the early part of the eighteenth century our ritual, with all that is

attached to it, was much as we have it to-day. When I therefore enter on the object of endeavouring to prove

that much of that ritual has an Egyptian origin, I want the brethren to know that it was not until the year

1820, or quite 100 years after the formation of the three G.Ls., before there was anything like an earnest

attempt made to read the hieroglyphics or sacred writings of Egypt, while it was quite another fifty years

before the "Book of the Dead" was deciphered and given to the world by Lepsius, Wilkinson, Naville, Petrie,

Wallace Budge and other enthusiastic Egyptologists.

The reading of the hieroglyphics or sacred writings was for centuries before the Christian era confined to the

priests of Egypt, and was called by themselves the writing of the priests, so that when Christianity became

the dominant religion in Egypt the old worship became obsolete, the priests died out, and the knowledge and

practice of the priestly writings went completely out of use, was neglected, forgotten, and for a period of

1,500 years utterly unknown to the world.

Egyptology, or the science of studying the ancient language, history and religion from the hieroglyphics, is a

thing of almost yesterday, and may be looked upon as one of the most romantic episodes in the domain of

literature.

Most of you are conversant with the history of the finding of the Rosetta Stone by a French officer of

artillery in 1798 in Rosetta, on the coast of Egypt. This stone is of black basalt, and is one of the most

treasured relics in the Egyptian galleries in the British Museum, being the key that unlocks the mysteries of

the Egyptian writings.

The Rosetta Stone is a monumental slab or tablet set up as a record of the benefactions of Ptolemy V., a king

of Egypt about 195 B.C. ; it contains fourteen lines of hieroglyphics, thirty-two lines of Demotic, and fifty-

four of Greek, coming in that order from the top. The Greek text was easily read, a translation being

published in 1801-02. Since it stated that the monument was a bilingual one (the writing of the priests and

the writing of the books being the Egyptian identical with the writing of the Greeks) men of being set

themselves the task of trying to decipher the hieroglyphics.

In the years 1819 to 1822 Mr. Thomas Young, an Englishman, and M. Chamipollion, a Frenchman, stated

that these characters, which were generally looked upon as picture-writing, were letters of an alphabetic or

phonetic value. Certain characters, as may be seen in the hieroglyphic part of the stone, were written in

cartouches or cartridge-shaped enclosures, and these cartouches recurred in the Greek text under the name of

Ptolemy. Eventually such names as Ptolemy, Berenice and Cleopatra were spelt out, and thus a key was

obtained, which enables us to unlock the secret of reading the records of the priests of Egypt.

In the latter half of last century Ernest Reran, the celebrated French writer, truly said :—" Egypt remains a

lighthouse in the profound darkness of antiquity." One would almost think the compilers of our ritual had

these words in mind when we read in our lectures : "The usages and customs of Freemasonry, our signs and

symbols, our rites and ceremonies, correspond in a great degree with the mysteries of ancient Egypt." An

assertion such as this would naturally lead one to expect in working the several degrees some reference or

some allusion to the religion and mysteries of Egypt as the origin of some part at any rate of our ritual.

On the contrary, however, nearly the whole of our ceremonial is attributed to episodes in the life of some

member of the Jewish race as narrated in the Holy Scriptures, while almost all our words and passwords are

given as being derived from the same source. Not a single one of the S., T. or W. are pointed out as

corresponding with those used in the religion or mysteries of ancient Egypt. It will be my endeavour to-night

to show the brethren wherein much of our ceremonies correspond with the religion of Egypt, and that we can

fairly claim the fundamentals of the Masonic ritual to have had an origin hoary with antiquity compared with

the religion of Israel.

RELIGION OF ANCIENT EGYPT.

It would be as well before going further to glance briefly at the religion of Egypt, for each of the Egyptian

mysteries, like those practised in Syria, Greece and Rome, was based on some circumstance in the life of

their gods and goddesses.

The religion of ancient Egypt is to be found in a vast collection of religious texts, arranged in 190 chapters.

They have been collected from the walls of tombs and temples, from papyrus rolls enclosed in mummy cases

along with their occupants, and from writings upon the mummy cases and sarcophagi themselves.

A very fine example of this is the alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I., who lived 1360 B.C. This very fine coffin

has upon it extracts from nearly all the texts, and part shows the divine bark of Ra, the Sun-god, being

conveyed through the fourth hour of the mysteries. The bottom of the sarcophagus shows a beautiful full-size

painting of the Goddess of the Heavens, surrounded with texts of the same religious litany.

The name "Book of the Dead" has been given to these writings, and as far back as Egyptian history and

traditions can go the "Book of the Dead " appears to have been an integral part in the religions of Egypt. No

mere man was the author of this remarkable collection. The texts were dictated by God Himself at the

creation of the world to Thoth, the Scribe of the Gods, who is shown as having the body of a man and the

head of a bird, and is always depicted in the act of writing the decrees of the deities. We might style Thoth

the Divine emanation of wisdom and learning, the inspiration of God to man, the first to fill the place

ascribed by Plato to the Divine Logos and by St. John to "The Word."

Thousands of years before Moses wrote, " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," the

Egyptian story of the creation had been given to Egypt, showing the god Nu rising out of the primeval water

bearing on his outstretched arms the boat of the sun-god Ra, this being received by the goddess of the

heavens, Nut, who stands on the head of Osiris, whose body encloses the region of the under-world; also the

sacred Scarabæus, symbol of the Creator, raising himself out of the primeval void, and separating the

firmament above from the waters beneath.

The "Book of the Dead" contains a history of the creation, the attributes of God, the powers and functions of

the attendant gods and goddesses, as well as the ceremonies required to enable a man to live such a life on

earth as shall prevent his soul from being cast into that pit of fire, where the doomed one must not only suffer

eternal torment, but must undergo a species of penal servitude.

On the other hand, a man who lives a good life and acts up to the teachings of the inspired writings, will

obtain from Osiris, the "Lord of Everlastingness," as his final reward, not only the crown of immortality, but

a pleasant existence in the Elysian fields. There he will live in the company of the gods, there his crops will

grow luxuriantly, his cattle be sleek and docile, and there he can have the company and fellowship of those

whom he loved and knew on earth.

With the exception of a few tales, the records of the wars, expeditions of their rulers, detailed statements of

the erection of their temples, tombs and monuments, and some hymns to the gods and goddesses, the chief

and almost only literature of the Egyptians was the "Book of the Dead." We can, therefore, realise how

inseparably these chapters, with their formula of rubrics, litanies, ceremonies, passwords and signs must

have entered into the minds and lives of the people.

To an outsider the people of Egypt almost deserved the sneer of Juvenal: "Who knows not what monsters

mad Egypt can worship ; whole towns worship a dog, nobody Diana " ; or that of Plutarch : "The Egyptians,

by adoring the animals and reverencing them as gods, have filled their religious worship with many

ridiculous rites. To this Origen, one of the Christian fathers, very pertinently replies, "Many, listening to

accounts they do not understand, relative to the sacred doctrines of the Egyptian philosophers, fancy that

they are acquainted with all the wisdom of Egypt, though they have never conversed with any of their

priests, nor received any information from persons initiated into their mysteries."

Now, although every province, city, town and even household had its god or trinity of gods, over and above

all there reigned the Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth—the great first Cause, Creator and Preserver of all,

T.G.A.O.T.U.—Ra, the Sun-god, called in Upper Egypt Amun Ra, "the hidden one." As proof of this, we

have, in the "Book of the Dead," among the many hymns to Ra, "Thou art the one God who didst come into

being in the beginning of time." "Thou didst create the earth ; thou didst fashion man ; thou didst make the

abyss of the sky ; thou didst create the watery abyss; and thou didst give life to all that therein is." "O Thou

One, Thou mighty One, of myriad forms and aspects."

Ra or Amun Ra, and the triad of Osiris, Isis and Horns, were worshipped throughout the whole of Egypt

from the earliest pre-dynastic times to the very end of its civilisation under its native rulers, a period of

anything from 7,000 to 15.000 years. The worship of Isis and Horus and the ceremonial of Ra and Osiris

have survived to the present day, though under different names; the former in a branch of the Christian

Church, and the latter, as I hope to show, in our Masonic cult.

Having set forth this general claim for the close connection between our ancient moral system and that of

Egypt—let me show briefly under separate headings how some of our more familiar symbols, traditions and

ceremonies may be explained in the light of Egyptology.

THE POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE.

The God Ra is written phonetically with the hieroglyphs R. and A., i.e., a mouth and an arm, followed by the

two ideographs, a circle with a dot in the centre and a seated god. But on most occasions the name of Ra, the

Sun-god, is written with the ideograph of a point within a circle, as though the name was of "too essential a

nature to be fully comprehended by human wisdom or clearly pronounced by the tongue of any individual."

This sign of a point within a circle was used by the kings of Egypt for thousands of years as their royal title

to the throne, while they did not scruple to style themselves sons of Ra. The same sign is even to-day used by

astronomers in writing of the sun as the centre of the heavenly bodies, and is referred to in our Masonic

ritual.

MASTER AND WARDENS.

The sun, being the visible emblem of the god Ra, had three names or aspects. In the morning he was Kheper

Ra, or Ra Harmachis, the opener of the day. The Sphinx, the oldest monument in the world, was called Ra

Harmachis, the rising sun. This huge figure, with the face and head of a man and the body of a lion, is 140

feet long and over 60 feet in height. As it sits facing "the east, to open and enliven the glorious day," it

represents wisdom and strength. For thousands of years it also it represented beauty, for in 1200 A.D. the

learned Arab, Abd-el-Latif, described the face as being very beautiful and the mouth as graceful and lovely.

At midday, when the sun was at his meridian, he was Ra, the strong one; "when all beasts and cattle reposed

in their pastures and the trees and green herbs put forth their leaves." At even he was Atmu, or Temu, the

closer of the day : " When thou settest in the western horizon the earth is in darkness and is like a being that

is dead." This last quotation is strikingly shown in the illustration to chapter xviii. of the "Book of the Dead."

The Sun-god, in the shape of the Sacred Eagle with disc on head and folded wings, is about to set in the

mountains of the west. Isis and Nepthys, sister goddesses, are adoring two lions, representing the sun of

yesterday and the sun of to-morrow—a fine allegory of past, present and future.

Thus we see that Ra Harmachis, like our W.M., was placed in the east ; Ra, like our J.W., represented the sun

at its meridian; and Temu, like our S.W., is placed in the west to close the day, or, as the Egyptian ritual puts

it : "I am Ra Harmachis in the morning, Ra in his noontide, Temu in the evening."

THE TWO GREAT PILLARS.

Next in importance to the worship of Ra, the Sun-god, was the cult of Osiris and Isis and of Isis and Horus.

The adoration of these gods and goddesses was not only the dominant religion in Egypt from the very

earliest until the latest times, but during nearly a thousand years it had spread into Phœnicia, Greece, Rome

and throughout the whole of the Roman Empire. In many cases Osiris is identified with Ra, the Sun-god,

while Isis is most frequently shown wearing the disc of the moon or the crescent moon on her head. In the

texts Isis is the divine consort of Ra Osiris. She is the moon who rules the night as the sun rules the day ; and

every month at new moon she gathered the sun into her lap to be impregnated anew. "That I may behold the

face of the sun and that I may behold the moon for ever and ever," was the great wish of the pious Egyptian

("Book of the Dead," chap. xviii.). Osiris and Isis are often pictured as the two eyes of Ra, and in that

capacity enter largely into the mysteries of Ra. Now, when we consider how much the sun and moon bulked

in the worship of the Egyptians and surrounding nations, let us see what effect this would be likely to have

on those two great pillars placed by King Solomon at the-porchway or entrance to his Temple at Jerusalem.

Before the temple of the sun at Heliopolis (the On of Genesis), Osertsen the First (of the twelfth dynasty

B.C. 2435) set up two obelisks. One of them remains there to-day, the only trace left of that gorgeous

building where Joseph's father-in-law served as priest to the Sun-god, where Moses, as the adopted son of

Pharoah, must have worshipped and conducted the mysteries of the temple and where, two thousand years

later, learned Grecians like Herodotus came to study. These two obelisks would undoubtedly represent the

two most important objects in the worship of the heavenly bodies, the sun and the moon, Osiris Ra and Isis.

About 1,000 years later, or, to be exact, B.C. 1566, Queen Hatasoo, of the eighteenth dynasty, set up two

obelisks in front of the Temple of the Sun at Karnak. They are there to-day, the one standing, the other fallen

down, a memorial to the worship of the two heavenly bodies. I have, however, a work published in 1757,

"Travels in- Egypt, by Frederick Lewis Norden, Captain of the Danish Navy." Captain Norden visited

Karnak on 11th December, 1737. In his book he has numerous plates in the old copper engraving. He says :

"I drew those magnificent antiquities in all the situations it was possible for me and as they offered

themselves to my sight."

By Captain Norden's drawing both obelisks were standing at the entrance to the temple less than two hundred

years ago. So that the artist who made the drawing of Karnak restored placed the obelisks in the position they

originally stood when set up by Queen Hatasoo nearly 3,600 years ago. The queen, in an inscription on the

walls of her temple, describes them as "two great obelisks of granite of the south, and the summit of each is

covered with copper and gold, the very best which can be obtained ; they shall be seen from untold distances,

and they shall flood the land with their rays of light. I have done these things because of the loving heart I

possess towards my father, Ammo Ra, the Sun-god."

Some centuries later at Medinet Abu was placed a very fine pair of pillars at the porchway or entrance to the

temple. These pillars were set up by Rameses III. about 1200 B.C., or quite 200 years before King Solomon

built the Holy Temple at Jerusalem.

The pillar seems to have been largely used in the religious ideas of the Egyptians, either as an emblem of the

Deity or a thank-offering from the worshippers. In many of the temples to-day there are beautiful lotus and

papyrus pillars, while in numerous vignettes in the "Book of the Dead" we have Osiris seated in a shrine

upheld by two graceful pillars. Now, when we see that not only in Egypt, but in the surrounding countries,

the worship of the sun and the moon was not only the prevailing but the popular religion of the people, there

is little to be wondered at that when the Israelites left Egypt they not only carried away with them a very

strong bias in favour of this worship, but had that propensity considerably strengthened when they settled

down among the sun and moon worshippers of Palestine.

So rampant was this prejudice in favour of sun and moon worship, that we find Moses denouncing it in no

unmeasured terms, and threatening death on the "man or woman that hath brought wickedness in the sight of

the Lord thy God in transgressing His covenant, and hath gone and served other gods and worshipped them,

either the sun or the moon " (Deut. xvii., 2, 3). In spite of these warnings, however, we find years afterwards:

"Josiah put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense to the sun and

to the moon " (2 Kings xxiii., 5). Again we read, "At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones

of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of their

graves, and they shall spread them before the sun and the moon whom they have loved and whom they have

worshipped " (Jer. viii., 1, 2).

Ezekiel saw "five and twenty men with their backs towards the temple of the Lord and their faces towards

the east, and they worshipped the sun towards the east " (Ezek. viii., 16). The Jewish women told Jeremiah :

"But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own month to burn incense unto the Queen

of Heaven (the moon or Isis) and to pour out drink unto her as we have done, we and our fathers and our

kings and our princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem " (Jer. xlix., 17). One more

quotation, this time from the sorely afflicted man of Uz :—" If I beheld the sun when it shines or the moon

walking in brightness, and my heart hath been secretly enticed or my mouth hath kissed my hand" (Job xxxi.,

26, 27).

When we thus see the influence that sun and moon worship had upon the children of the Exodus, and when

we consider that though settled in Palestine they were surrounded by nations who paid homage to the sun

and moon under the names of Osiris Ra and Isis, Baal and Astarte, Milcom and Ashtoreth, and Adonis and

Cybele, and when we read that Solomon took to himself wives from Egypt, Moab, Ammon, Edom and

Phœnicia, we are quite prepared for the information given in 1 Kings xi., 5, that "Solomon went after

Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidoniaus (the moon), and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites

(the sun)."

This brings us to still another consideration that, in view of these telling quotations from Scripture, are we

not justified in assuming when Solomon put up those two great pillars at the porchway or entrance to the

Temple they had an esoteric meaning entirely different to that ascribed to them in Holy Writ, and that only

by adopting the view I shall now put before you as to the signification of those pillars can we bring in the

meaning given to them in our ritual.

We are told that the pillar on the left denoted strength, while that on the right signified to establish. Let us

suppose that these two pillars, no matter by what names they were called, had also a hidden meaning, what

more appropriate conception for signifying strength could be selected than the Sun-god ? The sun was all

powerful, all beneficent, daily observing all that transpired on earth, while the pillar on the right, if we put it

down as representing the Moon-goddess, would answer as the Establisher. The phases of the moon marked

out the weeks, each moon was a lunar month, and with unfailing regularity she indicated the Jewish festivals,

marking them to stand firm for ever, and when conjoined with the strength of the sun what better designation

could be applied than stability?

If we consider the question carefully, and reflect on all that the sun and the moon stood for to these people at

this particular time, we can see that strength and stability would be a more apt interpretation for those bodies

than could be deduced from the great-grandfather of David and the assistant high priest at the dedication of

the Temple. Reading certain passages of the Psalms helps to confirm us in this. "They shall fear Thee as long

as the sun and moon endure throughout all generations" (Ps. lxxii., 5). "It shall be established for ever as the

moon" (Ps. lxxxix., 37). " He appointed the moon for seasons, the sun knoweth his going down" (Ps. civ, 19).

An ancient Cyprian coin depicts the old Temple of Aphrodite, at Paphos, built about 100 years before the

Temple at Jerusalem. In addition to the pillars at each side of the entrance to the temple, the sun and moon

are also represented as adorning the top of the building. Let us bear in mind that Solomon's intimate friend

and adviser was Hiram, King of Tyre, that his chief Master Mason was Hiram Abif, that his principal

architect was Adoniram, all Phœnicians ; that this Temple of Paphos, which was at the time the glory of the

Mediterranean Coast, and lay only a short distance from Tyre, would powerfully influence the minds of

those in the immediate vicinity. Nor is it improbable that the architecture of this Temple, with its pillars,

would appeal to the Phoenician craftsmen and would largely guide them in suggesting to Solomon a similar

style of sanctuary in the house he was about to build for the Lord God of Israel.

There is yet another motive that may have influenced Solomon in dedicating these pillars to solar deities.

Professor Sayce says that Hadad was the supreme Baal or Sun-god of Babylonia, and that his worship was

widespread in Palestine and Syria, also that the abbreviated form of the name of Hadad was Dad, Dadu and

the Biblical David. If therefore David was the Palestinian name for Baal, the Sun-god, what more likely than

that Solomon would be ready to take this opportunity of perpetuating the memory of his illustrious father?

The Encyclopedia Biblica, in treating of the two pillars, suggests that the names given are enigmatical and

that they must have a religious significance. That not improbably the full name of the pillar on the left hand

is Baal-zebul (dwelling of the Sun), and in later times probably the name of the second pillar was

deliberately mutilated because of the new and inauspicious associations which had gathered round it.

Solomon, to have been consistent with the teachings of Moses, should have erected only one pillar as a

symbol of that unity of the Divine Being, which was so integral a part of the worship of the Israelites.

In setting up two pillars be was conforming to the belief of every one of the surrounding nations, i.e., a

duality in the divine, the sun and moon representing the active and passive principal in nature, the male and

female element,. Coming down to later times, we find these two pillars prominent in Druidic enclosures used

for the rites of sun worship, while the two steeples or towers at the front of our Christian cathedrals and

churches look as if they were an unconscious survival of the votive obelisks or pillars erected to the sun or

moon before the temples of Egypt.

(To be continued.)

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AUSTRALIAN MASONIC CENTENARY.

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INSTALLATION OF GRAND MASTER.

————

[Condensed from Sydney Newspaper.]

————

The 12th August, 1820, is a memorable day for Freemasons of the Commonwealth. It was on that day— 100

years ago—in a tavern near Circular Quay, that the first Australian Masonic Lodge, under a charter from

Ireland, was established, and officers installed. Thirteen years later a Lodge was opened under the E.C., and

in 1851 the ramifications of the S.C. had extended to Australia. Then in September, 1888, the United G.L. of

New South Wales. Front that period to the present day Freemasonry in Australia has made wonderful

progress, both numerically and in efficiency.

The Town Hall was crowded, and it is doubtful if ever the great city auditorium ever held a more

representative gathering of men. So dense and constant was the stream of members from 6.30 p.m. that the

doors had to be closed a little after 7 o'clock. Hundreds were unable to gain admittance. Punctually at 8

o'clock a quartette of trumpeters heralded the arrival of the G.M. and the G.L. officers, and they were

received with the customary Masonic rites. The. G.M. was supported on the dais by M.W. Bros. Dr. C. U.

Carruthers, A. B. Templeton, H. Montgomerie, Hamilton, W. H. Simpson, P.G.Ms.; R.W. Bro. John

Gotilston, D.G.M. ; V.W. Bro. E. Hungerford, Pres.B. of G.P. ; V.W. Bro. E. Dyson Austen, Pres.B. of B.,

and many present and past G. officers of the United G.L. The Lieutenant-Governor, Sir William Cullen, was

also present. There were also distinguished visitors from the various Australian States and New Zealand.

They included :— Victoria : M.W. Bros. T. F. Hickford, G.M., Rev. A. T. Holden, P.G.M., R.W. Bros. W. P.

Bice, D.G.M., Sir H. Weedon, P.D.G.M., A. Phillips, P.D.G.M., C. T. Martin, S.G.W., W. T. Hatton,

P.S.G.W., Major Baird, G.J.W., T. Passfield, P.J.G.W., A. A. Thomas, P.J.G.W., C. J. Barrow, P.D.G.M.,

G.Sec., V.W. Bros. Rev. J. Leuzer, P.G. Chaplain, W. Kemp, G.Reg., W. A. Wright, P.G.Treas., F. C. Beck,

P.B.B.., J. L. Davies, P.P.B.B., W. E. Cash, P.G.I.W., W. Bros. W. E. Chellow, G.D. of C., F. Lee, A.G.D. of

C., G. B. Leith, P.G.S.W., J. G. Black, P.G.S,D,, L. Evans, P.G.S.D., T. Ford, P.G.S.D., P. Wheeler, G.St.B.,

R. A. Dixon, G.S., J. Samuels, G.S., J. H. Pollard, G. Herald. New Zealand : M.W. Bro. H. J. Williams,

P.G.M., R.W. Bro. A. Veitch, P.G.W. Tasmania : R.W. Bro. Charles Ramsay, P.D.G.M. South Australia :

R.W. Bro. C. R. J. Glover, P.D.G.m., G.Sec., W. Bros. Frank Smith, J. C. Jacob. West Australia : V.W. Bro.

W. Read, D.S.G.M., S.C. Queensland : M.W. Bros. Charles H. Harley, P.G.M., H. J. Brown, P.G.M., Rev.

H. T. Molesworth, P.D.G.M., R.W. Bros. G. Rees, G.J.W., J. Millican, J. C. Roberts, P.G.W. Representatives

were also present of the United Kingdom and other British territories, United States of America, Belgium,

Brazil, Chili, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, France, Grand National Lodge, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway,

Porto Rico, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Valle de Mexico. Several apologies were also

received, and, while regretting inability to be present, conveyed congratulations to the M.W.G.M. and the

G.L.

Following the opening ode, which was sung with manifest enthusiasm by the brethren, minutes of

communication, recording the election of the G.M. and the G.L. officers, were read by the G.Sec., R.W. Bro.

Arthur H. Bray, and M.W. Bro. Thompson was proclaimed G.M. for the ensuing year by the G.D. of C. in

the orthodox Masonic manner, which was accompanied by G. honours. Preceded by a fanfare of trumpets,

the visitors were announced by the G.D. of C., and welcomed by the G.M. After several musical numbers

had been given, and the G.L. officers invested, R.W. Bro. J. Goulston presented to M.W. Bro. Wm.

Thompson a life-size portrait of the G.M. himself. He stated that he was making the presentation on behalf of

the whole of the fraternity, but really it was the gift of Bro. M. Luke, of Lodge Thespian. It gave him great.

pleasure in asking reception of the gift.

The report of the G.M. stated that since Masonry had become a united body, its progress had been

remarkable. In 1896 there were 192 Lodges, with a membership of 7,078, while to 1st June, 1920, there were

312 Lodges with a membership of 31,500. The funds of the G.L. in 1896 amounted to £7,613, the funds of

the Orphan Society to £21,494, and the funds of the F.B.I. to £3,546, while in 1920 they had increased to

£118,500, £41,135 and £28,574 respectively. The amount disbursed for charities for the six years prior to

1896 was in the neighbourhood of £11,000, while the disbursements for the 1914-1920 period, which

included the War Benevolent Fund disbursements, reached almost £48,000.

During the evening a male choir of 300 voices, directed by Bro. N. J. Gehde, G.D. of Music, supplied an

excellent programme of music. "God Bless the Prince of Wales" and "God of our Fathers" were sung by the

whole of the assemblage.

The National Anthem concluded the proceedings.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS ACKNOWLEDGED.

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J. R. Robertson 18/6 (Petone), T. E. Hughes 10/- (Mercer), T. McEwan, A. C. Allen, R. Singer (Wellington),

J. McKenty 16/-, H. B. La Trobe 20/, J. D. Webster (Auckland), J. L. Davidson, R. Brigans, G. Hinchcliffe,

G. Burrows, S. Piper, D. McInnes, R. Orr 7/6 (Clyde), J. Richardson 7/6 (Woolston), G. Winter 7/6

(Dunedin), H. H. Kingham 7/6 (Timaru), H. H. Hope 21/- (Christchurch), C. Leech 10/- (Rangiora), W.

Eddy 18/4 (Dunsandel), C. P. Bates 19/- (Ohakune), A. J. Turville 7/6, R. Derbyshire 7/6, J. Bowes 7/6, L.

A. C. Anderson, W. J. Pooley, W. J. McDougall, E. Eales, L. Freedman, J. Newton, A. E. Jenkine,W.

Forsyth, H. E. Edgley, A. McCarthy, R. McLeay, T. H. R. Gifford, A. J. Scheele, G. J. Rayment (Napier), R.

McKenzie 22/10, G. H. Patrick (Geraldine), D. Kerr 10/- (Gravity), R. Daniel 10/- (Puponga), G. E. Duncan

11/3 (Thames), J. Robertson 1/- (Hawera.), W. D. A. Chisholm, C. Plum 13/- (Blenheim), A. Long 10/-

(Methven), R. J. Wheldale (Otorohanga), H. Waring 10/- (Taupiri), T. Sneddon 10/- (Blackball), A. Hull 20/-

(Hillgrove), W. Dando 20/- (Brunnerton) F. Strugnell 10/- (Kawakawa), D. Smeaton 38;4 (Waihi), C.W.

Forrest (Porangahau), F. W. Armitage 10/- (Manaia), W. G. McHardy (Clinton), G. H. Bellamy 21/.

(Hamilton), H. Boon (Seatoun), W. Coath 10/-, A. Colville, A. J. Hoskins, D. A. Fulton (Waimate), J. H.

Knap 20/- (Pipiroa), D. Dickie 10/- (Mataura), C. E. Skilton 10/- (Westport), D. McFarlane 10/- (Wanganui)

Southern Star Lodge 17/6, S. F. Bolton 10/- (Nelson), A. W., Price 10/- (Fairlie), R. J. Bower 10/-

(Whangarei), Phœnix Lodge 10/- (Akaroa), W. Allan (Invercargill), J. W. Bishop 37/6 (Ohau).

(All 8/6 except those noted.)

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Correspondence.
———————————————————————————————————————————

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

———<>———

"Presentation to R.W. Bro. A. le H. Hoyles" and "Address by Archd. H. Richmond, P.P.G.M.," are

regretfully held over owing to pressure on space.

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A QUESTIONABLE MOVE.

———<>———

TO THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR AND BRO.,—With your valuable assistance I wish to refer to a proposition emanating from

Hinemoa Lodge, which, on first sight, may look attractive, but I contend requires well considering before

being adopted. It is proposed to form a "Council" of South Wellington Lodges, viz., Hinemoa, Tutanekai,

Whetu Kairanga and Mokoia, with the object of severing their connection with the town Lodges, including

Board of Enquiry. What will G.L. say to this? Will it not tend to weaken the friendly relations existing at

present between the Wellington Lodges, when our object should be to strengthen and unite the various

Lodges and bring them as much as possible into close touch with one another? No doubt there is more

"vigour" in the young Lodges, naturally as the members are as a rule younger men, but the older Masons

should have riper experience, and their counsel and advice is very valuable at times. I trust a more able pen

than mine will deal with this matter and have it thoroughly threshed out, and not have any hasty action taken,

which might be regretted afterwards.—Yours fraternally, SLOW AND SURE.

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MASONIC ETIQUETTE.

———<>———

TO THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR AND BRO.,— In the CRAFTSMAN for August, page 45, under the heading of "Enquiries," the

question is asked :—" In proving as F.C. or M.M. by signs, whom do the brethren take the time from? Our

J.W. states that he has read on authority that it must be taken from the S.W." And you answered :— "The

command to prove comes from the J.W., and the sign is made simultaneously by the brethren. We do not see

any necessity for time to be given, and have never heard the point raised." In the third edition of " The

Etiquette of Freemasonry," by "An Old Past Master " (A. :Lewis, London, MCMIX.), the author says, on

page 97 :—" When brethren are commanded to prove themselves in the opening of the Second and the Third

Degrees, they should look to the West, and should take their time from the S.W. In many Lodges, after the

command itself the J.W. adds, looking to the W., or, better still, 'taking your time from the S.W.' The object

all through is to get the brethren to make every movement in unison. This can be done only by taking the

time from one man. Perhaps the best example of discipline in this respect is to be found in military Lodges.

The perfection of accuracy and precision of movement and of time are, of course, to be expected from these

drilled and trained men. These qualities, however, are not difficult in practice in private Lodges. The habit is

easily acquired, but unfortunately so many brethren, as it were, fight for their own hand, and do not strive

after combined and simultaneous action. Every brother should visit a military Lodge if one such happen to be

held within the length of his c.t.,' and he will see how charming and instructive such a visit be; profit and

pleasure will be the result,' to a certainty.''—Yours fraternally,

WM. A. MILLS.

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A "WORTHY MASON."

———<>———

TO THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR AND BRO.,— There is a Freemason who has accomplished work that is deserving of record. I refer

to W. Bro. W. R. Snellgrove, a P.M. of Lodge Ruapehu, and the present 1st Prin. of Ruapehu R.A. Chapter.

His work is commendable, for the reason that not only is it excellent, but because, until a few years ago, he

was Tyler of the Lodge, had not been exalted to the R.A., and his position necessarily gave him little

opportunity to hear the ritual rendered ; also because he has arrived at the age of 68 years, and at that

advanced age it is not easy to fix the ritual in the memory. He has, however, done most of the work in his

Lodge, and at the last meeting of Ruapehu Chapter, at which the 1st G.Prin. was present, he did the whole of

the exaltation work without the slightest lapse, this testifying to his possession of a remarkably good

memory. Nor is this all. He has been equally distinguished for his enthusiasm and devotion to the Craft. The

Chapter indebted to him for most of its furniture, etc., made by himself. Moreover, he was the moving spirit

and the chief worker in causing the Chapter to become active again, after it had been dormant for a

considerable time. He is also a master of detail, and one who is never satisfied with anything less than

perfection. If we had a few more like W. Bro. Snellgrove, as deeply imbued with the spirit of Freemasonry

and as fervently zealous for its progress, our Lodges and Chapters would benefit immensely.—Yours

fraternally, PENTALPHA.

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TITLES IN FREEMASONRY.

———<>———

TO THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR AND BRO.,— Your correspondent, signed F. C. Pizey, in the August issue of the CRAFTSMAN, in

his criticism on my letters on Titles in Freemasonry," states from the "Charge on the W.Ts. in the Second

Degree that, "although distinctions among men are necessary to preserve subordination, and to reward merit

and ability, yet no eminence of situation should make us forget we are brethren," and reasons that we should

always respect the civil titles of our brethren; and in answer to that I would say that I myself always respect

civil titles in their proper place, which is outside the Lodgeroom, and, further, I would advise your worthy

correspondent to read the rest of the charge, where it states that the level teaches equality. The portion of the

charge that he quotes refers to civil life, and is a justification for Lodges to appoint Masters and officers to

rule and govern the Craft. If the beautiful teachings of the ritual were carried out, I would have had no

occasion to have written any letters on the subject. I am quite aware that G.Ls. use civil titles coupled with

Masonic titles in their correspondence, but a bad habit cannot justify itself, and as this same correspondence

must be read in the Lodges, brethren with civil titles are therefore distinguished from their fellow Masons,

which does not agree with the idea that the "level teaches equality." Some of our most prominent Masons

have told me that civil titles are only used for purposes of identification ; if that is so, then the civil titles

should be placed after the Masonic titles, in brackets. If a man of high title were desirous of joining Masonry,

he could only be initiated under his private or family name, and not under his title name, and I maintain that

we can only know him in the Craft by the name under which he was initiated, together with any Masonic

titles that Masonry might confer. The use of civil titles in Masonry is nothing more nor less than pure

snobbery, and all efforts of eight-thinking Masons will not put a stop to it so long as the world is run as it is

to-day.—Yours fraternally, WM. JACOBSEN, P.M.

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AUCKLAND MASONIC CLUB.

———<>———

Evidence of the progress and prosperity of this club was manifested by the large attendance of 160 members

at the annual meeting, held on 5th August, the President (V.W. Bro. E. R. Piggott, P.P.S.G.W , I.C.)

occupying the chair. A motion of sympathy was accorded R.W. Bro. Pooley, who was absent for the first

time for many years. The president, in submitting the annual report and balance-sheet (adopted), which

showed a very successful year, went into details about the work done and the results obtained. He also

referred to proposed alterations and extensions to premises. The total membership now stood at 891,

including 272 new members during the year. The library contained 2,400 volumes, and the committee would

consider, amongst other staff appointments and reorganisation, the question of appointing a librarian. The

club was indebted to Bro. Stretton, the manager, for the efficient control he had exercised, and to the auditor,

R.W. Bro. H. C. Tewsley. It was confidently expected that members would continue to loyally support the

club and management. Officers were elected as follows :—Patron, M.W. Bro. Olliver Nicholson ; president,

W. Bro. D. B. Wallace ; vice-presidents, V.W. Bro. G. A. Gribbin, W. Bros. F. L. Smith and D. C. Fraser;

auditor, R.W. Bro. H. C. Tewsley; treasurer, R,W. Bro. J. Catchpole; committee (by ballot), W. Bros. J.

Smith, F. Rose, H. T. Rossiter, F. R. Trevithick, J. H. Vulgar, Bros. J. W. Bailey, J. C. Badeley, H. E. Forde,

H. C. Savage and A. W. Clark. Some lively discussion ensued, in which there was some inclination on the

part of speakers to stray from the point and procedure. W. Bro. Lusher moved, and Bro. A. Hintz seconded, a

suggestion that a special meeting be held to consider altering the rules to enable the printing of the balance-

sheet and report for circulation to members, hot the mover eventually agreed to give formal notice of motion

as provided for by the by-laws. The brethren generally favoured the proposal. It was decided to increase the

annual subscription from 30s. to £2 2s., and in the case of country members to 15s. Eulogistic references

were made to the valuable services of the president (V.W. Bro. Piggott), who replied in his usual homely

style, acknowledging the cordial support he had received from the committee, staff and members. On the

motion of Bro. J. Jolly Thomas, seconded by Bro. Barber, mention of the retiring president's faithful work in

the interests of the institution was recorded in the minutes. On behalf of the committee and members, W.

Bro. Fraser presented V.W. Bro. Piggott with a gold albert as a token of esteem and gratitude for his

devotion to duty in directing the affairs of the club as president for the past five years. He hoped the recipient

would be spared many years to wear the gift, which marked his appreciated tenure of office. In replying, Bro.

Piggott referred to the very active connection with the club of Bro. D. B. Wallace, who was succeeding him

in office. He thought that the mantle was falling on very good shoulders. He heartily welcomed Bro. Wallace

to the presidential chair, presented him with the gavel of office, and bespoke for him the cordial co-operation

of officers and members. The new president emphasised that the club, with which he had been connected for

many years, was for the social and fraternal intercourse of brethren, and he would strive to improve

conditions for the comfort and benefit of its members. It would be a pleasure to assist to enhance the already

fine reputation which the club enjoyed amongst members of the Craft from North Cape to the Bluff. He

would join with members in extending a hearty welcome to visiting brethren. He made reference to the

enthusiasm of Bro. Piggott, and thanked the club for the honour done him. It was resolved to invite Bro.

Piggott to attend all committee meetings. Supper was served at the conclusion of a very pleasant meeting.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Poetry.
———————————————————————————————————————————

ONE DAY.

———<>———

If we sit down at set of sun,

And count the things that we have tone,

And, counting, find

One self-denying act, one word.

That eased the heart of him who heard,

One glance most kind,

That fell like sunshine where it went,

Then we may count that day well spent.

But if, through all the livelong day,

We've eased no heart by Yea! or Nay !

If through it all

We've done no thing that we can trace,

That brought the sunshine to a face,

No act most small,

That eased some soul and nothing cost,

Then we must count that day as worse than lost.

—Unknown.

————————

BROTHERHOOD.

———<>———

Let us each day some kind act do,

To our fellow man ;

Stop in our mad rush a minute or two,

Give him a smile, a hearty grasp of the hand,

Brace bins up, say a. word of cheer;

Let him know a brother is near.

In this vale of trouble and trial,

We each have our individual woes,

So do your brother some kind act; and smile,

Let him feel he is with brothers, not foes.

So when your final day is closing,

Night coming swiftly on,

Be prepared to meet the Divine Master,

For God will know that smilingly,

You bravely " Carried On."

—E. Forrest Powell, 32de;

————————

A MASONIC LODGE.

———<>———

First, the Master there presiding,

Should be dignified, discreet,

Just, impartial, ever courteous,

Void of guile, without deceit,

Well informed in works Masonic,

Well instructed in our laws.

Zealous to promote the welfare

Of our grand fraternal cause :-

Next the Wardens, and the Deacons,

Should With promptness and good will

Each in his respective station,

Strive all duties to fulfil.

Master, Wardens, Deacons, Stewards,

Brothers :—All of each degree,

The rich, the poor, the high, the lowly.

Whate'er his rank or station be,

All should be a band of brothers,

All united, and agreed,

Watchful of each other's welfare,

Helpful in each brother's need ;

Guarded in their words and actions.

Temperate, prudent, firm and just,

Honest, square in all transactions,

Faithful to their every trust.

In their ranks and in their councils

No contention should there be,

Save that noble emulation,

Best to work and best agree

Their charity,the World embracing.

Striving to promote God's plan.

The Fatherhood of God confessing,

And the Brotherhood of Man.

—“Masonic Herald”

————————

A MASON'S PRAYER.

———<>———

Almighty Force, that makes the day

And gives the stars their course,

That started life from lifeless clay—

To Thee. Almighty Force,

We offer homage, as we shenld,

Convinced Thy might is for man's good.

Eternal Law, that rules the sphere,

And makes each atom draw

Each other atom, far and near—

To Thee, Eternal Law,

We speak obedience, as we must,

Assured Thy dictates all are just.

Unchanging Truth, that fearest naught,

Tho' oft by minds uncouth

Misunderstood, and then mistaught—

To Thee, Unchanging Truth,

We bow the mind instead of knee,

Believing Thou lost snake men free.

Fraternal Love, that fills the world,

Whose banner floats above

All lands, all peoples, broad unfurled—

To Thee, Fraternal Love,

We pledge the heart and give the hand,

Proclaiming that with Thee we stand.

Almighty Force, strong evermore;

Eternal Law, true still to-day ;

Unchanging Truth, tried o'er and o'er ;

Fraternal. Love, then, now, always

Omniscient Soul, supreme, divine,

These attributes we hail as Thine.

—James Perkins Richardson, in the "New Age."

————————

"MY CREED."

———<>———

To live as gently as I can ;

To be, no matter where, a man;

To take what comes of good or ill

And cling to faith and honour still;

To do my best, and let that stand

The record of my brain and hand;

And then, should failure come to me,

Still work and hope for victory.

To have no secret place wherein

I stoop unseen to shame or sin;

To be the same when I'm alone

As when my every deed is known ;

To live undaunted, unafraid

Of any step that I have made ;

To be without pretense or sham

Exactly what men think I am.

To leave some simple mark behind

To keep my having lived in mind;

If enmity to aught I show

To be an honest, generous foe;

To play my little part, nor whine

That greater honours are not mine.

This, I believe, is all I need

For my philosophy and creed.

—" Masonic Tidings."

————————

DO WE?

———<>———

To meet upon the level

Is an easy thing to say,

But when it comes to practice,

Do we do it every clay ?

Do we meet him on the level,

If the brother chance to be

Just a little out at elbow,

Or baggy at the knee ?

—" Masonic Home Journal."

————————

CONSTITUTION, CONSECRATION AND DEDICATION OF

LODGE EASTBOURNE, No. 217.

———<>———

Lodge Eastbourne, No. 217, is the latest addition to the register of the G.L. of New Zealand, and commences

Masonic life under the most favourable and auspicious circumstances, having a charter roll of thirty-two

names, including those of distinguished and experienced brethren. Its home will be at Eastbourne, near Day's

Bay, across the Wellington Harbour, but the ceremony of its constitution, consecration and dedication,

together with the installation of its W.M. and investiture of officers, took place in the Lodgeroom, Boulcott

Street, Wellington, on Wednesday, 4th August. Specially for this interesting function; the M.W. G.M., Bro.

T. Ross, had come up from Dunedin, accompanied by M.W. Bro. Malcolm Niccol, G.Sec., P.G.M., R.W.

Bro. S. Clifton Bingham, Dep.G.M., and V.W. Bro. J. A. P. Fredric, G.Treas. Although the hour set down for

the ceremony was 5 p.m., there was assembled by that time a numerous and distinguished gathering of

members of the Craft. G. officers, present and past, who in addition to those already mentioned were in

attendance, were as follows :—R.W. Bro. G. Russell, Prov.G.M. of Wellington; R.W. Bro. J. W. Ellison,

P.P.G.M. R.W. Bro. H. H. Seaton, P.G.J.W. V.W. Bro. J. H. Sykes, P.G. Chaplain ; V.W. Bro. H. B. Bridge,

P.G.Lect.; V.W. Bro. E. P. Rishworth, P.G.D. of C.; W. Bro. A. A. George, S.G.D. ; W. Bro. J. Rod, P.G.D. ;

W. Bro. H. W. Preston, P.G.B.B. ; W. Bro. J. P. Shand, P.G.S. ; W. Bro. E. B. Parsons, P.G.S.; W. Bro. W.

A. Baudinet, P.G.S. The ceremony of constitution, consecration and dedication was most efficiently and

impressively performed, and will long remain a bright and elevating memory to those privileged to witness

it. To the strains of a grand march by the Acting-G. Organist, Bro. Frank F. Thomas, the M.W.G.M. and G.L.

officers entered and took their seats, the chairs being occupied respectively by the M.W.G.M., and R.W. Bro.

H. H. Seaton as S.W. and W. Bro. A. A. George as J.W., the other offices being filled by G.L. officers. V.W.

Bro. E. P. Rishworth officiated as G.D. of C. A Lodge having been opened in the First Degree, the

M.W.G.M. announced the object of the assembly. Then followed a prayer by the Acting-G. Chaplain, Bro. J.

H. Sykes, after which the Lodge was opened in the Second and Third Degrees, in which last the honours of

his exalted rank were accorded the GM. The M.W.G.Sec. having announced that the proceedings for the

erection of the new Lodge were all in order, the petitioning members thereof were duly marshalled and took

up their positions. The Acting-Assistant G.Sec., V.W. Bro. Fredric, then read the petition and charter. After

the reading of the 133rd Psalm, an ode was sung, during which the G.L. officers appointed to present the

elements, corn, wine, oil and salt, took their places round the Lodge symbol. These officers were R.W. Bros.

S. C. Bingharn, G. Russell, J. W. Ellison and V.W. Bro. H. B. Bridge, who knelt while the symbol was

uncovered and prayer was offered by the G. Chaplain. This concluded, the G. Chaplain sprinkled the Lodge

with perfume, and then, procession after procession, followed by G. Honours, the elements were presented to

the M.W. Consecrating Officer, Bro. T. Ross, who dealt with them according to ancient custom. Followed

then the invocation and dedication prayer by the G. Chaplain, after which the M.W.G.M. constituted the

Lodge, and the members of Eastbourne Lodge did homage to G.L. After the trumpet call and proclamation

by the Acting-G.D. of C., an appropriate address was given by the G. Chaplain, the ceremony concluding

with the Patriarchal Benediction. Lodge was then closed in the Third Degree, and the M.W.G.M. handed the

gavel to R.W. Bro. G. Russell, Prov.G.M. of Wellington, who called off till 7.30 p.m., when the installation

of the W.M. and investiture of officers would be taken. It should be said that the incidental music and odes

were greatly appreciated, and added to the solemnity of the ceremony. At 7.30 p.m. there was, of course, a

greatly increased attendance of brethren. Lodge was called on, and the installation ceremony was proceeded

with, the W.M.-elect being W. Bro. Phineas Levy, P.M., whose fourth time it was of being inducted into the

chair of K.S. R.W. Bro. G. Russell, Prov.G.M., ably conducted the ceremony, which is too familiar to need

detailing,. The W.Ts. were presented respectively by W. Bros. D. M. Armstrong, G. W. A. Clark and F. H.

Mather. The address to the W.M. was delivered by R.W. Bro. S. Clifton Bingham, that to the Wardens by

R.W. Bro. H. H. Seaton, and that to the brethren by the M.W.G.M. W. Bro. Levy invested his Wardens, and

the other officers were invested by W. Bro. A. A. George. Bro. S. Greer ably presided at, the organ. The

following are the officers of the new Lodge :—W.M., W. Bro. Phineas Levi, P.M. ; S.W., W. Bro. Archibald

Walker ; J.W., Bro. David Nathan Isaacs ; Chaplain, Bro. William Bullock; Treas., Bro. William Naismith;

Sec., Bro. William H. G. Bennett; D. of C., W. Bro. Herbert William Preston P.M.; S.D., Bro. Cæsar A.

Marquis; J.D., Bro. Albert C. H. Beu ; I.G., Bro. Herbert L. Wright ; S.S., Bro. James Battersby; J.S., Bro.

George Douglas Little ; Tyler, Bro. John McLaren ; Acting-I.P.M., W. Bro. Francis Henry Mather. The

proceedings afterwards in the refectory were most enjoyable, the remarks by the M.W.G.M., chiefly in

connection with matters of G.L., being listened to with great interest.

————————

AN IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY.

———<>———

AUCKLAND MASONIC INSTITUTE AND CLUB.

————

ROLL OF HONOUR UNVEILED.

————

The unveiling of a Roll of Honour is a visible form of respect, love and appreciation, and the Auckland

Masonic Institute and Club recently signalised, in some substantial way, its gratitude to men who served with

the colours in the late great war by having erected within the portals of the club, and in a prominent location,

a beautiful solid oak edifice standing 10ft. from the floor and 6ft. wide, enshrining the outward and inward

spirit so nobly expressed in those noble words :—

" Proudly you gathered, rank on rank, to war,

Yes, who had heard God's message from afar;

All you had hoped for, all you had, you gave

To save mankind—yourselves you scorned to save."

Brethren representative of Auckland Lodges near and far attended, some with their wives and members of

their families. Apologies were received, one from Bro. Right Hon. W. F. Massey, as follows :—" Regret

very much inability to be present to join in honouring our comrades who nobly responded to their country's

call to fight for freedom and justice. Many of them will be with you to-night, and my thoughts will be with

you and them, and my warmest sympathy goes out to the relatives of those who made the supreme sacrifice,

and whose memory you are fittingly perpetuating." Bro. the Hon. G. J. Garland telegraphed that he was with

the meeting in spirit to honour the mighty dead. He expressed warmest personal regards to returned brethren

and parents of the brave. The function was Masonic in character, the president (V.W. Bro. E. R. Piggott,

P.P., S.G.W., I.C.) being supported by R.W. Bro. M. J. Bennett, D.D.G.M. (Lodge 708, S.C.), V.W. Bro. F.

H. Mueller (Maungawhao), V.W. Bro. F. J. Leighton (Lodge 168), and V.W. Bro. Gribbin.

W. Bro. D. B. Wallace, in an interesting address, said that, although Freemasonry stood for brotherly love,

peace and goodwill, Freemasons were called upon to rise to arms whenever the cause of liberty was

threatened. Freemasonry was essentially for the free, and no bondsmen were admitted. Tyranny, whether

secular or religious, was always opposed by the great brotherhood, and brethren were free to withdraw from

the ranks at will. Masons supported freedom of action, thought, and of speech, and for that reason in times

past they had been imposed upon and persecuted, generally on the pretext that they would subvert the civil

government and destroy the belief in the gods. The priestcraft feared that a knowledge of our doctrines

would loosen their hold on the population. The great object of Freemasonry was the promotion of education,

especially in the liberal arts and sciences. Wherever Freemasonry had been ostracised or depreciated it was a

fact that the country concerned had failed to prosper. A good example was Spain, which, from the status as

the most powerful nation in Europe, had been reduced to lowest in the scale of power and prosperity.

Mexico, after centuries of oppression, had cast off the yoke of the priesthood, and there had been established

there a G.L., which, the speaker opined, would doubtless be the harbinger of peace and progress. Russia and

Austria had also suffered since Freemasonry was banished. The exception which proved the rule was

Germany, which had encouraged Freemasonry and had flourished. However, the Freemasonry practised

there seemed to have differed to the Freemasonry principles for which the Craft stood. That nation, in its

mad obsession and cries for world domination, greed and lust for conquest, had forgotten the rights of others.

Until that was understood it was not likely that the Germans would be acknowledged by English-speaking

and French Freemasons, who, true to their principles, when liberty of the world was imperilled, had sprung

to arms. He ventured to say that no society had sent on active service a greater percentage of its members

than Freemasonry. The Roll of Honour before them was a lasting monument to worthy brethren, and would

emphasise to future generations the gallantry of brethren of to-day in the cause of liberty of the present and

continued British freedom.

GOD, KING, COUNTRY AND FLAG.

The president said that on the evening of the surrender of Plevance, in the Turco-Russian War, he had the

privilege of hearing a lecture by that great war correspondent, Archibald Forbes, who painted a striking

word-picture of the sufferings of wives whose husbands would never return, and of little black-eyed children

who would never again have their fathers' embrace. The speaker considered the tribute to be the finest he had

ever heard to humanity in common. Today, was there not joy in the knowledge that our boys played the

game, won the esteem of their general, and that they stood out as staunch upholders of the finest traditions of

the British race That knowledge should be dear to the hearts of the mothers of our boys. Why should such

sweet memories be locked up in the silent chambers of the heart? He would say, "Speak of them and of the

crowning efforts of their lives, that posterity may ever know the noble offering made for God, King, and

Country."

" For the golden evening brightens in the West,

Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest ;

Sweet is the calm of Paradise, the blest,

Alleluia."

It was not his intention to dwell upon the horrors of the late great war. Hopes that the vindictiveness would

not remain with us were heard, but such sentiments were perhaps easy for those who had not fully suffered,

but we had to turn to the mothers, those mothers who were passing through the second travail of their souls,

and were longing intensely for "the touch of a vanished hand, and the sound of a voice that is still." It was an

insult to the honoured dead and to those who had passed through the fiery furnace of affliction that their

tribulation should be so lightly passed over. The unveiling of this Roll of Honour was an object lesson of

inherent love of King and Country and of respect for the honour of womanhood. It represented to future

enquirers that these things were done—achieved—by our boys, that our successors might still enjoy the

glorious liberty ever to be found under the folds of the Union Jack. They were proud to welcome home some

of their brethren, but they were also reminded of those who had given their lives. No matter where their sons

and daughters lay—those heroic souls, worthy successors of the "Lady of the Lamp" — whether in France,

Gallipoli, Egypt, Palestine or Mesopotamia, the 17,000 crosses stood, not only to mark the resting-place, but

as a sign of "Faithful duty done." That duty was now transferred to us, as men and women, citizens of the

Empire, to see that the sacrifice was not in vain—that we should support our navy, to which we owe so

much, that the dear old white ensign shall continue to wave as mistress of the seas, and that the aggressors of

might against right may realise there is a power that will hold the scales of justice with equal poise. The

speaker dwelt upon the dire effects of war upon his native heath—Devon—and proceeded to refer to the

noble work of the nurses in the conflict. They would never forget the service of Nurse Cavell. With

T.G.A.O.T.U. helping us, our boys and girls of the future would creditably emulate those of the past. He

concluded with those stirring words of Frank Ellis in "The Rally."

THE UNVEILING.

The president then called upon Mrs. Bailey, wife of Bro. J. W. Bailey, to officiate. Mrs. Bailey said :—" I

now unveil this Roll of Honour."

R.W. Bro. J. Catchpole, P.S.G.W., thanked Mrs. Bailey for perforating this part of the ceremony, which

marked an important event in the history of the club. It was right that the duty should be carried out by a

mother of the Empire. In recognition, he presented Mrs. Bailey with a gold cross. Bro. Bailey returned

thanks for the gift on behalf of Mrs. Bailey.

The ceremony was concluded with the cornet rendering of "The Last Post," played by Bro. F. L. Gribbin, the

audience standing.

During the evening Bro. Professor Maxwell Walker provided two fine elocutionary items, Sir Arthur Conan

Doyle's "Those Others" and Materlinck's "In Memoriam." Prayer and hymns were led by Bro. Rev. Jasper

Calder and Bro. Rev. F. Carew Thomas, Miss Burns contributing solos. W. Bro. A. J. Tapper, P.D.S.G.W.,

E.C., presided at the organ. Supper was served in the social hall.

The Roll of Honour, which was designed by Bro. J. Park, architect, and erected by Bro. J. Collings, is a

magnificent structure, with side fluted columns, all mounted on a solid oak base. It bears the names of 65

members in gold lettering, surmounting which is some fine original carved scroll-work. The Roll represents a

principal acquisition to the already handsome collection of Craft tokens possessed by and contained in the

Club premises.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Reports.
———————————————————————————————————————————

[Secretaries and Scribes are requested to forward Reports.]

————

CRAFT LODGES.

————

SOUTHLAND.

Southern Cross, No. 9.—The regular meeting was held on the 6th August, when W. Bro. Farrant presided.

The ceremony of the evening was the passing of three E.As. The W.M. gave the Ob. and Signs and Secrets,

W. Bro. Cann the S.E. Corner, W.M. and Wardens the W.Ts., and W. Bro. Padget the Final Charge. Several

propositions for membership were received. Two ballots were taken and found clear. W. Bro. Camm, of the

United G.L. of Victoria, was unanimously elected a member, presented by the D. of C., and cordially

welcomed by the W.M. It was decided to nominate the month of November as being a suitable time for the

annual communication. The Lodge closed, and an adjournment was made to the social board, where an

enjoyable hour was spent.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Taringatura, No. 100.—There was a large attendance at the meeting on 20th July. Owing to the absence of

the W.M., W. Bro. Finlay, through illness, W. Bro. S. E. Griffiths, I.P.M., presided and conducted the

ceremony of raising three candidates. Assistance was given by IV. Bros. H. Beer, G. F. Johnson, D. Walker,

H. Graham and Bro. H. Ewen. In referring to the indisposition of the W.M., the I.P.M. expressed the hope

that his illness would be of short duration. Several visiting brethren were present, and at the refreshment

table, in response to the visitors' toast, spoke highly of the work of the officers in conducting the ceremony of

the evening.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Waihopai, No. 189.—The regular meeting was held on the 19th July, when there was an exceptionally large

attendance of members and visitors. M.W. Bro. M. Thompson and R.W. Bro. Haggitt, Prov G.M., were in

attendance. The ceremony of the evening was the passing of three E.As., and was conducted by the W.M.

(Bro. J. D. Campbell). The W.M. gave the Ob., Bro. Sydney Smith the S.E. Corner, W.M. and Bros. Mitchell

(S.W.) and Stohr (J.W.) the W.Ts., and R.W. Bro. Haggitt the Final Charge. Bro. Mitchell (S.W.) was called

upon to deliver the lecture on the 2nd T.B. There being no further business the Lodge closed in P., L. and H.,

and all retired to the refectory.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Tuatapere, No. 210.— The regular meeting was held on the 28th July. The work of the evening was the

passing of three brethren, one by request of Lodge Otago Kil., No. 143. The W.M. obligated and

communicated the Secrets, W. Bro. Charlton gave the S.E. and Final Charges, Bro. J. J. Hinchcliff invested,

Bro. Bennett Richards gave the T.B., and Bro. Rillstone the W.Ts. The Lodge recommended that November

be the month for the annual communication. Two circular appeals received the hearty support of the Lodge.

The W.M. reported that Lodge Tuatapere had accepted an invitation to work the Initiation Degree on 11th

August. W. Bro. Charlton reported having visited Lodges Mataura (installation) and Aparima (Third

Degree). It was agreed to adopt the by-laws as set out on page 125 (1 to 5 inclusive) of the B. of C. The

following brethren were elected Trustees of the Lodge :— W. Bro. Charlton, Bros. W. Young, W. Arthur, P.

Hamilton and Robert Scott. Two Deacons' chairs had been presented to Lodge Orepuki, No. 137, on the

opening of their new Lodgeroom by Lodge Tuatapere. There was one proposition for membership. H.G.W.

were received from Lodges St. John, No. 94, Winton, No. 108, Orepuki, No. 137, Otago Kil., No. 417,

Tuatapere, No. 210. — [Lodge Correspondent.]

————————

OTAGO.

Hiram, No. 46.— An emergency meeting was held on the 20th July, when four candidates were initiated.

The regular meeting was held on the 27th July, W.M. Bro. J. McNaughton presiding. Bro. T. A. Biggs, of

Lodge Oceanic, was balloted for and elected. Three candidates were initiated, the ritual work being

efficiently and impressively carried out by the W.M., officers and members of the Lodge. It was decided to

pay off debentures amounting to £100. M.M.’s diplomas were presented to Bros. Woodhead, Hill, Scrivener,

Ferguson, Rixon, Kerr, Matthews, and J. W. Owens. Two circular appeals were dealt with, sums of £2 2s.

and £1 ls. being voted respectively. Two candidates were proposed for initiation. The Lodge was asked to

express its opinion as to the most suitable month for the annual communication of G.L. After discussion it

was resolved that no recommendation be made. The W.M. extended bon voyage to Bros. Stewart and Rye,

who are leaving on an extended holiday. Gratification was felt at the action of the B. of B. in increasing the

pension of our esteemed Bro. Matthew Walker to £1 per week. The Lodge closed at 10 p.m., and the usual

supper adjournment was spent in social and fraternal intercourse. — [Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Clinton, No. 183.— The regular meeting was held on the 29th July, W. Bro. R. G. Shepherd, W.M.,

presiding over a large attendance of brethren. The business of the evening was to initiate a candidate. This

was done by the officers in a very efficient manner, the work being performed by the following brethren :—

Ob., W. Bro. R. G. Shepherd ; W.Ts., Bro. Evans ; Lesser Lights, Bro. Cairney ; Investiture, Bro. R.

McIndoe ; Final Charge, Bro. Dark. A very pleasant hour was spent round the festive board, the usual toasts

being drunk with enthusiasm. — [Lodge Correspondent.]

————————

CANTERBURY.

St. Augustine, No. 4. — The monthly meeting was held in the Christchurch Masonic Hall on the 10th

August. W. Bro. J. Baxter (W.M.) was supported by a fair attendance, particularly of P.Ms. The G.Sec.'s

suggested response to circular appeals was agreed to and the necessary amounts voted. The matter of date of

meeting of G.L. was left to the W.M.'s discretion when the Prov.B. of G.P. have this question under

discussion. A ballot for a joining brother proved clear, and propositions for three new members were read.

The degree work was an initiation, and the W.M. was assisted by W. Bros. Forbes (W.M. Lincoln), Dr.

BlackMore' T. H. Williams (W.M. Civic), G. A. Blackmore g(W.M. Robert Burns) and C. H. Duff. The

usual pleasant hour was spent in the refectory.--[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Robert Burns, No. 139.-The installation meeting was held in. the Christchurch Masonic Hall on the 17th

August, W. Bro. G. A. Blackmore (W.M.) presiding. The Lodge was tyled at 6.15 p.m., and at 7.15 the

business was completed, and the Prov.G.L. of Canterbury entered, headed by W. Bro. J. C. Watson,

P.D.P.G.M., who led the Lodge in the absence of R.W. Bro. F. C. B. Bishop, Prov.G.M., who was laid aside

by sickness. Following the Prov.G.L. came the Dist.G.L, E.C. and then the G.L., under R.W. Bro. S. C.

Bingham, Dep.G.M., who conducted the ceremony of installation. When all were seated there was a roll of

nearly 300. Bro. Walter Ernest Rogers, W.M.-elect, having been presented, a B. of I.Ms. was opened by W.

Bro. T. Kirker, Prov.G.Sec., and Bro. Rogers was inducted into the chair. The W.Ts. in the Board were

presented by W. Bro. W. Gasson, P.P.G.Sd.B. On the re-admission of the members, the W.Ts. in the three

degrees were presented by W. Bros. J. E. Dunstan (W.M. Ionic Lodge), R. Browne (W.M. Conyers Lodge,

E.C.) and T. H. Williams (W.M. Civic Lodge). The Warrant, Constitution, etc., were presented by W. Bro. J.

C. Watson, P.D.P.G.M., who is the oldest P.M. of the Lodge, having vacated the chair just forty years ago.

The address to the W.M. was given by W. Bro. T. Kirker, Prov.G.Sec., and the Wardens, Bros. Thos.

MacRae and L. W. Ormandy, were invested by W. Bro G. Yemm, P.G.D, and addressed by W. Bro. G. R.

Hadfield, P.P.G.B.B. ; W. Bro. C. Flavell, P.G.Sd.B. invested the following officers :— Chaplain, Bro. T. W.

N. Wilson; Treas., Bro. J. Robinson; Sec., W. Bro. R. W. S. Eastwood ; D. of C., W. Bro. T. Kirker ;

Assist.D. of C., Bro. A. J. Towns; S.D., Bro. R. Maclachlan; J.D., Bro. W. W. Newman; I.G., Bro. A.

Ryland; Stewards, Bros. W. Kemp, E. C. Bathurst, L. Rains, H. J. Harris; Tyler, R.W. Bro. H. F. Arnold.

R.W. Bro. S. C. Bingham, Dep:G.M., gave the address to the brethren, and W. Bro. A. H. Hobbs, P.G.Supt.

of W., made a spirited appeal to the brethren on behalf of the W. and O. and A. M. Fund, which resulted in

£32 5s. being added to the fund. In the refectory nearly 300 sat down to an excellent repast, and the usual

toast list was carried through.— [Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Tawera, No. 188.— There was a. good attendance at the regular meeting on the 3rd August. It was

unanimously decided to recommend. that the annual communication of G.L. be held in May as heretofore.

The G.L. appeal on behalf of the W. and 0. and A.M. Fund was held over for special consideration next

month. It was decided to send a letter of congratulation to Bro. W. G. Rudd, W.M.-elect of Lodge

Unanimity, No. 106. Bro. Rudd was the second initiate in Lodge Tawera, soon took office, and was a

valuable member until removing from the district four years ago. The ceremonial work of the evening was

the initiation of three candidates, all returned soldiers, two of whom were sons of foundation members of the

Lodge. W. Bro. L. Watson gave the Ob., and was assisted in the ceremony by W. Bros. G. G. Leech

(Secrets), Henderson, D. of C. (N.E. Charge), Bros. Hall, J.W. (R. for Prep.), T. C. Horn, S.W. (W.Ts. ), and

the Final Charge was given by W. Bro. T. L. Gainsford, I.P.M. A very pleasant hour was spent in the

refectory. A pleasing feature of the gathering was the large number of foundation members present, and the

W.M., in suitable terms, proposed the toast of the fathers of two of the candidates, pointing out that though

increasing years might prevent their regular attendance at the Lodge, yet their interests would be maintained,

and their names would be remembered in their sons.— [Lodge Correspondent.]

————————

MARLBOROUGH AND NELSON.

Victory, No. 40.— The installation of this Lodge was marked by the usual very large attendance, the various

Lodges in the district being well represented. Bro. A. G. Shrimpton was installed as W.M. by R.W. Bro. R.

W. Siles, Prov.G.M. of Marlborough and Nelson, assisted by R.W. Bro. Wm. Moyes and W. Bros. Orsman,

Hobbs, Harton, Milne, J. Williams, Bolton, West and Fitzsimmons. During the evening W. Bro. Reynolds,

the retiring W.M., was presented with a P.M.'s jewel to mark his year of office, which was an excellent one

from every point of view. The W.M. in his address made some very fine Masonic references. The following

officers were also invested :— I.P.M., W. Bro. L. Reynolds; S.W., Bro. H. H. Edwards; J.W., Bro. G. J.

Robertson; Treas., R.W. Bro. W. Moyes; Sec., R.W. Bro. R. W. Stiles ; S.D., Bro. A. E. Davies; J.D., Bro. J.

Morgan ; D. of C., W. Bro. J. L. Ching; Lect., W. Bro. C. B. Harton; Chaplain, Bro. G. A. Edmonds;

Organist, Bro. H. S. Clanghton ; I.G., Bro. L. M. Estcourt ; S.S., Bro. R. B. Witty ; J.S., Bro. A. C. McKillop.

On Thursday, 12th August, the regular meeting was held, when three brethren were raised. Three candidates

were successfully balloted for and two others were proposed. The following brethren assisted W. Bro.

Shrimpton in the evening's work :— W. Bros. J. L. Ching, C. B. Horton, H. P. Stephenson, J. H. Orsman, L.

Reynolds and Jas. Williams. Recent appeals issued by G.L. were considered, and the amount asked for by

the governing body voted in each case. An appeal was also received from Golden Bay Lodge, No. 2194,

Takaka, Nelson, on behalf of the widow and family of a former W.M. A sum of three guineas was voted,

and, as the deceased brother was well known in Nelson, this amount is likely to be augmented by individual

subscriptions. Demits were granted to Bro. P. C. McLaren (now resident in the Wairarapa) and Bro. Canon

A. Carr (transferred to Greymouth). The Lodge is getting into quite a flourishing condition. The annual

balance-sheet showed a credit of £102 7s. 4d., with no liabilities, whilst the total assets amount to £1,184 9s.

5d. Out of the special fund of the Lodge, P.Ms.' jewels were provided to the value of £31 10s., marriage

presentations £11 14s., "going away" presentations £11 8s. All the Lodge funds are in a very healthy

condition. During the year Memorial Pillars and Honours Board were erected to those brethren who lost their

lives at the war, the total cost being £74 2s. 6d. A literary society has been established, and meets monthly.

On 10th July excellent papers were submitted by R.W. Bro. W. Moyes, H. Wilson (read by W. Bro.

Shrimpton) and Bro. R. B. Witty, whilst W. Bros. Ching and Williams gave an exhibition in "proving."—

[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Unanimity, No. 106. — The last meeting under the "old regime'' took place on the 29th July, when an

emergency was held for the purpose of giving three brethren the Third .Degree. The W.M. (Bro. Lambie)

conducted the ceremony, and was assisted in the ritual work by W. Bros. Lightfoot, Furness; and Brown, and

Bros. Rudd (S.W.), Halligan (J.W.) and Rabbits (S.D.). There was a good attendance, the visitors including

the W.M. of Wairau Lodge (W. Bro. Jellyman). During supper W. Bro. Furness read the paper recently

contributed to the Masters' and Past Masters' Lodge, No. 160, by W. Bro. C. J. Morland, on "The Craft

Guilds," which was greatly appreciated. W. Bro. Lightfoot, in proposing the health of the newly-raised

brethren, made a splendid speech, the keynote of which was Responsibility. The health of the W.M. was

proposed by W. Bro. Furness, who paid a warm tribute to W. Bro. Lambie's work during the year, both in the

conferring of degrees and in the business and social sides. In replying, W. Bro. Lambie appealed to those

who could not, through one cause or another, take office, to help in the musical portion of the ceremonies

and in the "Fourth." Several brethren (including three from Wairau Lodge) contributed musical items, and a

number of choruses were also given.

Like the gathering at Wairau some six weeks previously, the installation meeting of Lodge Unanimity, held

on 12th August, was a record one, every available inch of space being occupied. The proceedings were of a

most successful and enjoyable character, the arrangements for dealing with the large attendance (101

brethren signed the attendance-book) being very thorough and working very smoothly. The Lodge premises

were lighted by electricity for the occasion. Preliminary business was transacted in the afternoon, when six

ballots were taken, and two brethren were given their Third Degree. Amongst those present at the evening

meeting were M.W. Bro. Griffiths, P.G.M., R.W. Bros. de Castro, P.P.G.M., and Redman, P.P.G.M. The

ceremony of installing Bro. W. G. Rudd as W.M. was carried out by W. Bro. R. P. Furness, Dep.Prov.G.M.,

who was assisted by the following brethren acting as G.L. officers :— S.W., W. Bro. W. J. Girling, P.G.Supt.

of W.; J.W., W. Bro. W. C. Lucas, G.S., ; D. of C., W. Bro. G. J. Logan, P.G.S.; Sec., W. Bro. T. F. Bull;

S.D., W. Bro. T. E. Cleator, I.P.M., No. 42; J.D., W. Bro. E. J. Hazelwood, W.M. No. 111; I.G., W. Bro. F.

E. Fairweather, No. 131. W.Ts. were presented by W. Bros. W. C. Lucas, A. E. Jellyman, G. J. Logan and E.

J. Hazelwood. The address to the W.M. was delivered by R.W. Bro. W. E. Redman, that to the Wardens by

W. Bro. J. M. Lightfoot, P.G.St.B:, and that to the brethren by M.W. Bro. Griffiths. The following officers

were invested by the W.M. and W. Bros. Lambie and Lightfoot :— I.P.M., W. Bro. W. M. Lambie; S.W.,

Bro. T. Halligan; J.W., Bro. C. R. Rabbits ; Chaplain, Bro. A. T. Cartwright; Treas., M.W. Bro. C. J. W.

Griffiths, P.G.M. ; Sec., W. Bro. G. J. Logan, P.G.S. ; S.D., Bra. H. Leslie; J.D. Bro. A. C. Nathan; D. of C.,

W. Bro. W. J. Girling, P.G.Supt. of W. ; Organist, Bro. E. L. Hay ; I.G., Bro. A. M. Thomson ; Stewards,

Bros. W. H. Brown, J. G. S. Thompson and G. Mitchell ; Tyler, Bro. C. N. Fisk. The collection in aid of the

Annuity Fund realised £8 6s. 6d. Bro. M. A. Cheek presided at the organ, and the trumpet calls were played

by Bro. C. A. Forrest. H.G.W. were tendered to the W.M. by visitors from all over the Dominion. Bro.

Williams had provided an excellent repast in the refectory, which was "crowded out," the overflow being

accommodated in one of the ante-rooms. The orchestra from Wairau Lodge played a number of selections

during supper, and the musical programme generally was very enjoyable. The "hit" of the evening was a

song by Bro. G. Mitchell, containing humorous allusions to several well-known members of the Lodge. The

speakers to the various toasts were unanimous in predicting for W. Bro. Rudd and his excellent set of

officers a happy and successful year.— [Lodge Correspondent.]

————————

HAWKES BAY.

Victoria, No. 21.-The regular meeting was held on the 3rd August. There was a good muster of brethren, and

there being no degree work, the W.M. (Bro. H. F. Funke) explained the 2nd T.B. to several brethren, and

after transaction of routine business and election of a trustee, viz., W. Bro. W. A. Kirk, the Lodge was closed

in usual custom at 9 p.m. An adjournment to the refectory was then made, where an admirable paper

explaining some of the features of the Third Degree was read by Bro. A. Arroll (who, by the way, is quite a

young Mason, but a deep student and an old man, being over 70 years of age), which was very attentively

listened to, and aroused a good deal of discussion, which should do much to interest the brethren in the work

of the instruction class which the W.M. has inaugurated, and is held on the second and third Wednesdays in

each month. The brethren expressed themselves as favourable to holding G.L. communication during

November.— [Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Bedford, No. 25.— The monthly meeting was held on Wednesday, 4th August. On this occasion the W.M.

departed from the usual routine in that he invited the P.Ms. of Lodge Bedford to conduct the proceedings. W.

Bro. E. Hosking took the Chair of K.S., the other P.Ms. filling the other offices. There was one candidate for

initiation, the ceremony being conducted in a most capable and impressive manner. At the close of the

initiation ceremony W. Bro. J. W. Elliott gave the Lecture on the 1st T.B. The lecture was most interesting

and instructive. On resuming the Chair of K.S. the W.M. thanked W. Bro. Hosking and his P.M., and

expressed the hope of again having the pleasure of their assistance on some future occasion.— [Lodge

Correspondent.]

————————

AUCKLAND.

United Service, No. 10.— The July meeting was held on the 28th inst., and was attended by a large number

of brethren, who evinced much interest in the proceedings, it being the first meeting held under the direction

of W. Bro. A. C. Hallett, the newly installed W.M. The business was the initiation of four candidates. The

W.M. obligated and communicated the Secrets ; W. Bro. Berry, I.P.M., the Address in the N.E. Corner ; W.

Bro. Tailby, Sec., the Prep. ; Bro. H. Gribble, J.W., the W.Ts. ; and Bro. H. T. Garratt, S.W., the Final

Charge. The work, as performed by the W.M. and his team of officers, was of a high standard, and must have

forcibly impressed the newly made brethren. H.G.W. were received from W. Bros. F. R. Trevithick (Lodge

Maungawhao, No. 168), J. E. Wade (Lodge Kumara, No. 65), and Oliver (Lodge St. Thomas Kil., No. 83). A

happy hour was spent in the refectory. The usual toasts were honoured, interspersed with items both

humorous and otherwise. — [Lodge Correspondent.]

————————

RUAPEHU.

Manawatu Kil., No. 47.— The regular monthly meeting of this Lodge took place at the Masonic Temple,

Church Street, on Thursday, 12th August, when there was a large attendance of members. The principal

business of the evening was the initiation of two candidates, which was capably carried out by the W.M. (W.

Bro. E. R. J. Tucker), who gave the Ob., assisted by W. Bros. E. R. B. Holben (N.E. Charge), Wm. Mundy

(W.Ts.), A. Clark as Chaplain, and W. Bro. A. E. Drew (W.M., Lodge Rangitikei), who gave the Final

Charge, while the Prep. Charge was admirably given by Bro. W. R. Douglas; I.G. The R.W. Prov.G.M. (Bro.

J. H. Perrett) paid a visit to the Lodge, and was received by the W.M. with that hearty good feeling which

showed that his visit was greatly appreciated. During the evening, in a brief address, he gave the members of

the Lodge much sound advice, and in doing so drew their attention to the efforts the G.L. was making to

increase the funds of the W. and O. and A.M. Fund, and solicited their help in a worthy cause — the help of

those who need assistance through misfortune and calamity. During the evening a motion to increase the

initiation fee, proposed by W. Bro. C. S. Rush, was carried by a good majority. Two candidates were

balloted for, and one was proposed. The "Fourth Degree " was marked by much cordial goodfellowship and

kindly feeling, the usual toasts being honoured. An excellent musical programme was arranged by the

choirmaster, Bro. S. E. Carson.— [Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Ruapehu, No. 128.— At the regular meeting in July the principal business consisted in conferring the Third

Degree on a candidate, the ceremony being performed by the W.M. (Bro. Upchurch) and his officers,

assisted by W. Bros. Thomas, Cameron, Lloyd, Snellgrove, Hilton, Cummins, and R.W. Bro. W. H. Smith.

The Lodge decided by a ballot not to replace alcoholic liquor on the refectory table. For the relief of the

widow of a brother of another Lodge £1 1s. was voted, and for the widow and family of a brother who died

in Dunedin, and was formerly a member of the Lodge, £5 5s. was voted, and it was also resolved to take up a

special subscription.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Huia, No. 171.—The usual monthly meeting took place on the 5th August, when an exceptionally heavy

amount of routine work had to be transacted. Two appeals from G.L. were received on behalf of distressed

brethren, both being authorised for payment. The ceremonial work consisted of two initiations. Owing to the

absence of several P.Ms., the W.M. distributed the work evenly amongst the junior officers, including Bros.

Stanley and Cooper, ably assisted by W. Bro. Budden (Lodge United Manawatu, E.C.). A lecture on the 1st

T.B. was delivered. Additional interest was given to the whole proceedings by the combined orchestra,

composed of musical brethren of the sister Lodge, United Manawatu, E.C., and Huia brethren. As a proof of

the good relationship which exists between the two Lodges a mutual arrangement has been established in

order to return the compliment whenever possible. An adjournment to the refectory was then made, when

several toasts were honoured and responded to, the whole of which in a measure compensated for having

suffered from the severe climatic conditions existing at present on Lodge nights.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Moutoa, No. 195.— The regular monthly meeting was held on 22nd July, a fair attendance of brethren,

including a number of visitors, being present. The ceremonial work of raising one F.C. was ably conducted

by the W.M., assisted by W. Bros. Munro, Bourne, Symes, Svenson, Bowater, and Bro. Runnerstrum, S.W.

A request from the W.M. of Lodge Forest, Nelson, to present W. Bro. Granville, of that Lodge, with an

Installed Master's jewel was duly carried out by W. Bro. Symes, W. Bro. Granville suitably responding to W.

Bro. Symes's well-chosen words. It was pleasing to see Bro. Howie, who has been on the sick list,

sufficiently recovered to enable him to be present and receive a M.M.'s certificate from the hands of W. Bro.

Bowater. It was also reported by W. Bro. Bourne that Bro. Soundey, who is on a health-recruiting trip to

Australia, is much improved, and hopes shortly to return much benefited by the change.—[Lodge

Correspondent.]

————————

WELLINGTON.

Leinster, No. 44.—This Lodge was honoured at the meeting held on 2nd August, the M.W.G.M., attended

by present and past G.L. officers being in attendance. The balance-sheet disclosed a very successful year.

The Second Degree was conferred on a brother, the W.M. obligating, and he was assisted by W. Bro. R. J.

Shakes, I.P.M. (the Signs); W. Bro. Geo. Jones, W.M. of Lodge Hinemoa (Charge after Investiture); W. Bro.

A. McLaren, D. of C. (S.E. Charge). The W.Ts. were presented by the W.M., S.W., and J.W. conjointly ; and

Bro. D. Parnell, S.W., delivered the Charge. The M.W.G.M. presented five brethren with their M.Ms.

diplomas, and, in doing so, expressed his pleasure, as the designer of the diploma (the late R.W. Bro.

Hawcridge), whom he described as a talented brother, had been an intimate friend of his. The diploma

depicted the various emblems symbolical of the Craft. In the refectory a very pleasant time was spent. M.W.

Bro. Thos. Ross, in responding to the toast of the G.M., delivered an excellent address, dwelling particularly

on various institutions of Freemasonry.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Hinemoa, No. 122.—The installation meeting on 12th August was an unqualified success, There was a

record attendance, the Lodgeroom being overcrowded. Notwithstanding, the ceremony was conducted in an

impressive and dignified manner. The ordinary business was quickly disposed of, and visiting Lodges

admitted. R.W. Bro. George Russell, Prov.G.M., who acted as Installing Master, accompanied by several

G.L. officers, was received with honours at 7.15 p.m. V.W. Bro. Bridge acted as S.W., V.W. Bro. Neilsen as

J.W., W. Bro. Neilson as I.G., W. Bro. J. Rod as D. of C. The W.M.-elect, Bro. S. L. Russell, was duly

installed and greeted according to custom. There were thirty-eight present at the B. of I.M. A feature of the

evening was the presentation of W.Ts. by the W.Ms. of the three daughter Lodges—W. Bros. Keys

(Tutanekai Lodge), Robertson (Whetu Kairangi Lodge) and George (Mokoia Lodge). The address to the

W.M. was delivered by W. Bro. S. T. S. Martin, to the Wardens by W. Bro. H. W. Preston and to the

brethren by R.W. Bro. Ellison, P.P.G.M. The Charter, B. of C. and By-laws were presented by W. Bro.

Shannon, who journeyed from Hasting to be present. The investiture of officers was in the capable hands of

W. Bro. A. A. George, S.G.D., and the following were invested :—S.W., Bro. P. Reid ; J.W., Bro. A.

Roberts; Chaplain, Bro. Rev. E. Drake; Treas., W. Bro. A. A. George; Sec., W. Bro. S. T. S. Martin; D. of

C., W. Bro. H. W. Preston ; S.D., Bro. E. Vine; J.D., Bro. J. McArdle ; I.G., Bro. J. Young; Stewards, Bros.

W. J. Robbins, and W. H. Boylett ; Tyler, Bro. W. W. Smart. During the ceremony the Hinemoa quarette,

Bros. Thompson, Robbins, Watson and Stevens, contributed Sullivan's "'The Long Day Closes." The

collection on behalf of the W. and O. and A.M. Fund amounted to £13 4s. A handsome P.M.'s jewel was

presented to W. Bro. George Jones by the R.W. lnstalling Master, and jewel case for Mrs. Jones by R.W.

Bro. Ellison, P.P.G.M. Following the closing of the Lodge, an adjournment was made to the Newtown Public

Library Hall, where the banquet was held, and there music was provided by Hinemoa orchestra, and an

excellent programme was carried out.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Wellington Installed Masters, No. 194. The regular meeting was held in the Boulcott Street Lodgeroom on

the 3rd August, the W.M. (R.W. Bro. H. H. Seaton) presiding, and the other officers being in attendance. The

occasion was a special one in that it had been announced that the M.W.G.M., Bro. T. Ross, would be present

and deliver a lecture, illustrated by lantern views. There was therefore a record attendance for this Lodge.

Ordinary business having been transacted, this including the election of V.W. Bro. C. W. Neilsen as W.M.-

elect, and also W. Bro. J. Rod as Treas., for the ensuing year, G.L. entered, the G.M. being received in the

First Degree with the honours due to his rank. The G.M., Bro. T. Ross, was accompanied by the following

officers :—R.W. Bros. S. C. Bingham, Dep.G.M., G. Russell, Prov.G.M., J. W. Ellison, P.P.G.M., J. J.

Esson, G.S.W., and others. V.W. Bro. T. W. Jones, P.G.D. of C., acted as G.D. of C. An apology was offered

for the unavoidable absence on account of indisposition of M.W. Bro. Malcolm Niccol, G.Sec. A discussion

took place on the paper of Bro. Thos. Queree, read at the previous meeting, but, unfortunately, this had to be

considerably abbreviated owing to time requirements, A hearty vote of thanks for his excellent paper, and

recognition of the great trouble he had been at to prepare the same, were accorded Bro. Queree. The

M.W.G.M. then proceeded with the delivery of his illustrated lecture, entitled "The Egyptian Influence on

our Masonic Ceremonial and Ritual," R.W. Bro. H. H, Seaton very efficiently managing the lantern and

slides. The lecture, which will be published in the CRAFTSMAN, proved most interesting and instructive, and

was greatly enjoyed by those present, in spite of its length. Needless to say, a sincere vote of thanks was

recorded to the G.M. for the great service rendered to the Lodge. Lodge having been closed in regular form,

a pleasant hour was spent in the refectory.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————

Mokoia, No. 213.—The regular meeting was held at the Lodge-room, Daniel Street, Newtown, on the 27th

July, W. Bro. L. A. George being in the chair. The work of the evening was divided into two sessions. After

the formal business had been disposed of four candidates were passed to the F.C. Degree, the work being

carried out by W. Bro. L. A. George, assisted by his officers and P.Ms. The Ob. was taken by the W.M.,

assisted by W. Bros. Neilson, Futter and Boon; Investiture Charge, S.W. Bro. H. Flanagan; Apron Charge,

W. Bro. Futter ; S.E. Charge, W. Bro, S. Russell ; W.Ts., W. Bro. L. A. George and Bros. Flanagan and

Perry. The Lodge thereupon adjourned for refreshments. Labour re-commenced at 7.30 p.m., when visiting

brethren were received. The W.M. then handed the gavel to W. Bro. G. Key (of Tutanekei Lodge, No. 156),

who conducted the subsequent ceremony of passing four candidates to the F.C. Degree. In the work W. Bro.

Key was assisted by his officers and P.Ms.—[Lodge Correspondent.]

————————

ROYAL ARCH CHAPTERS.

Southern Cross, No. 3.—The regular convocation was held in the Chapter-room on the 23rd July. The

meeting was presided over by R.E. Comp. T. M. Rankin, P.Z., in the absence of the 1st Prim He was assisted

by E. Comp. R. Smith, 2nd Prin., and E. Comp. NV. R. Rusden, 3rd Prin. After a considerable amount of

routine business had been conducted, the Chapter closed, and the companions retired to the P.Ms.' room for

the purpose of hearing the third stage of M.E. Comas. Wm. Smith's talk on Capitular Freemasonry. Comp.

Smith's remarks were followed with great interest. R.E. Comp. T. M. Rankin also had occasion to give

expression to some interesting remarks.— [Chapter Correspondent.]

————

Manawatu, No. 11.—A meeting was held on the 21st July for the purpose of advancing two brethren to the

M.M. Degree. W. Bro. Sinclair occupied the chair as W.M.M. Nominations of officers for the ensuing year

took place. The financial position of the Chapter is exceptionally strong at present, the outlook on the whole

being very satisfactory, which indicates the keen interest by the presiding officers. One needed improvement,

however, is a better attendance to encourage those who have to carry cm the ceremonial work of the Chapter.

— [Chapter Correspondent.]

————

Ruapehu, No. 19.—The business at the July meeting consisted of acknowledging and exalting a candidate,

the E.M. Degree being worked by R.E. Comp. W. H. Smith, P.G.J., and the R. A. by V.E. Comp. W. R.

Snellgrove, Z. The 1st G.Prin., R.E. Comp. T. Hobson, and the G.Supt., R.E. Comp. A. J. Graham, were

present, and a number of officers of Manawatu Chapter, with their 1st Prin., V.E. Comp. J. W. Sinclair. The

visitors were subsequently entertained in the

refectory till a late hour. It is intended to work the

side degrees again at an early date, The Chapter is

flourishing, and may arrange to work in the various

Lodgerooms throughout the district if sufficient

inducement offers, as it is likely to do.—[Chapter

Correspondent.]

————————

A. AND A. RITE.

Murihiku, No. 36.—The usual quarterly

convocation was held in the Masonic Hall.

Invercargill, on the 30th July, Ill. Bro. T. M. Rankin,

M.W.S., presiding over a good attendance of

members. One candidate who journeyed from Gore,

a distance of forty miles, was perfected to the 18th

Degree. The M.W.S. was very ably assisted by Bros.

Hoyles (D.M.W.S.), Steans (H. Prelate), Scott (D. of

C.). Rene and Rusden (Wardens).— [Chapter

Correspondent.]